Darth Arc
by JC of the Corn
Summary: After saving Pyrrha, Jaune is treated to a fate worse than Death. Perverted and twisted beyond all measure, will his friends find out who he is before its too late? Can a certain Redhead save him? FIRST STORY, SO YEAH ITS NOT AS GOOD AS I HOPED God Bless you all.
1. Beginning of the End

**So due to my last one shot, a lot of people have been asking me to do a Darth Vader Arc story, so I figured what the hell, I'll give it my best shot. This will be different as Pyrrha will still be alive.**

 **I have my sneaking suspicion she actually is still alive even if her voice actor confirmed her death, because isn't that what you would do if you wanted people to think your character was dead? Food for thought, besides its roosterteeth, how many characters in Red vs Blue ever stayed dead? Almost none.**

 **Anyways here we go, I had a little too much whiskey, so lets hope this turns out alright.**

 **Honestly reading this over...its a little weird, obviously he is Darth Vader, but making him like that was just odd, so please excuse the weird plot line.**

* * *

 **On top of Beacon tower**

"JAUNE!" That was all I heard...the arrow that pierced through my chest had really made me lose sense of my surroundings. Huh, funny, I didn't think it would hurt this much.

"Heh, how about that, I saved you for once." I said as I collapsed to my knees, yeah this was not my idea of being a hero.

Don't get me wrong, I had always dreamed of being a hero, but never in a way that I would be dying in my friends arms. I was hoping I would be more like the hero who saves the damsal in distress at the last moment and lives happily ever after. And while I accomplished the first part, this fairy tale definately did not have a happy ever after. This was more like a tragedy, like that story I read in the old books about the woman who fought for her people and was burned alive at the stake. While in the end her sacrifice and death meant a lot, I guarantee you she was not thinking the same thing.

Sure everybody thinks a sacrifice is a great thing for the people you love, but the thing is you feel scared as hell. You think about all that could have been, what you could have done, the family you could have started, it all comes rushing at you, Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't take back what I did, Pyrrha was worth it. But I couldn't help but feel fear that I was about to die, I knew you couldn't so easily heal a shot to the heart, that would be insane. All I know, was I was feeling pure fear right now.

I thought I felt fear when we faced that deathstalker, I thought I felt it when I faced that Ursa in that forest, I thought I felt FEAR, when Nora went on a pancake binge. So if thats what fear was, how do I describe what I am feeling now. I considered myself a religious man, I was certain there was an afterlife, but even then, what if I was wrong. What if we were just the result of some cosmic coincidence? The thought depressed me, how could everything have just happened, why couldn't there be a god who made everything? Hell, science and religion were pretty compatible when you thought about it. Oh dang, now I'm rambling again, I guess it happens when you're on the verge of death.

"Why? Why would you do that for me?!" Pyrrha yelled at me as she shook me while pulling the arrow from my chest.

"You're worth saving Pyrrha..." I said with a smile as her tears just increased...I wasn't good at comforting someone...especially since I was going to be dead pretty soon.

"No...It wasn't supposed to be like this...this was my destiny!"She yelled as I narrowed my eyes at her.

"Fuck destiny." I said as she looked shocked.

"What?" She said not believing what I said.

"I said...Fuck Destiny, We weren't put on this earth to follow a certain path, believing that you are meant to do a certain thing is bullshit, every single choice you make, every single step you take, it affects your final destination, what I mean is that WE are in control of what some would consider destiny, you can obey it, or you can deny it and change it. Nothing is predetermined, we're dust in the wind, God may have put us all here, but he didn't all assign us with a particular task, he gave us free will so that we could choose our own destiny...so please...stop saying that...its not your destiny to die." I said as she looked angry.

"But its yours to die?!" She yelled as I sighed.

"Maybe, I did say we all choose our own destiny, and I chose to do this for you...and I have no regrets...it hurts like hell, but if it means you will live...then I would glady do this again." I said with a smile as her tears were flowing freely.

"Its not fair! It should have been me!" She said as Cinder had already fled the scene, odd since she was so willing to kill Pyrrha. Why would she leave so suddenly?

"Its okay Pyrrha...besides, you've always been the strongest of us..." I said as she looked angry.

"It doesn't matter! You're still dying, and you don't deserve this!" She yelled as I looked at her.

"Maybe not...but, at least this way, I can die knowing I made a difference...I can know I saved you...the man who saves one life...saves the world entire...and right now...you are my world." I said as she looked shocked.

"What do you mean?" She said as she didn't understand what I was saying.

"I'm sorry Pyrrha...it shouldn't have taken me this long to see it...but I lo-" I said as she cut me off.

"No! Save it for when we get out of here!" She said trying to deny my impending death.

"No...Now! Or else I may not get another chance!" I said not letting myself falter despite the blood lose and pain in my chest.

"Look, all those times I chased after Weiss...it was just a schoolboy crush, and it was ridiculous, no matter how many times she rejected me...I kept going back...like a lost puppy...it was ridiculous...but looking back...no matter what happened, you were always there...I told you about my transcripts...you didn't abandon me...I told you I needed help...you helped me without a second thought...I shared some of my most personal secrets with you...you kept them...I even asked you for advice on how to get Weiss to like me...and you gave me advice! You have done so much for me, and I was so blind to it. Over time I began to think of us as best friends, people who could always rely on each other no matter what...but only only after you gave me that kiss...do I realize I wanted it to be more than that...but...I knew that one of us wasn't going to make it out of here...and I couldn't live with myself knowing that you had to make that sacrifice...you could save the world P...and if I have to die so that you may live...then I will glady bear that cross with honor." I said as I coughed up blood.

None of this was really doing anything to get her to calm down. And I didn't expect it to, how do you accept the fact that your friend is dying? You don't. I didn't, thats why I came back for her. Hell I don't even remember how I got here...it was almost like I was...pushed here by some unknown force. I couldn't explain it, but somehow I ended up back here, and managed to come in seconds from when Cinder was about to kill her...just in the nick of time.

"Come on Jaune...if you really care about me, you are going to get through this! We'll take a trip! We'll go on a couples retreat! Please anything you want! Just stay with me!" She said, with some tears of happiness mixed with her tears of sorrow.

Happy that we were a couple...but sad that it was already being ripped away from her. It wasn't fair was it? So long you had been waiting for someone, and then something came and tore you apart again?

"That sounds good...But...I got to go Pyrrha..." I said as I felt my eyelids getting heavy.

"No you don't! You can stay here with me! Please...I'll do anything...just don't leave me!" She said as I could feel her trembling.

The strongest girl I knew...and she was having a moment of weakness...all thanks to me...I felt guilt and pride.

"I wish...I could keep that...pro...mise." I felt myself fade away.

"Jaune...Jaune...JAUNE!" That was the only thing I could hear.

"No...It should have been me! I was supposed to do this!" Pyrrha yelled out not believing that the man she cared for was dying...and there was nothing she could do.

"Please...Pyrrha...you got to...save them...stop...the Grimm...I may be lost...but there are innocent people out there dying right now...so please...Help them." I said as I could hear the cries of the Grimm in the distance.

Pyrrha didn't want to leave me, but hearing the screams of terror and the sounds of Grimm fighting in the streets, her natural instincts took over, no matter her personal feelings, she could not let this affect her, while she may not have been able to save Jaune, she wouldn't condemn his last wish by choosing to not save any of the civilians who had been caught in the crosshairs of the fight.

"I swear...I will come back...and give you the burial you deserve...a heroes farewell." She said as she kissed my forehead and took off.

"That kiss...was enough." I said as I let the darkness take over.

How about that? Two kisses in one day, it must be my lucky day, well except for the whole dying part. Still though, I feel oddly at peace. Because in the end, I made a difference, at first I was scared I wouldn't make it back in time to help her, but I was wrong, I made it back, and I even saved her. I could feel the twitch of a smile on my face, while I was close to death, I couldn't feel happier knowing that I had given my life for a noble cause. Still it would have been great to live, at least I died a hero, who knows, maybe I'll meet my great great grandfather in the afterlife. I wonder what he would think of me? Would he say...that I became a hero?

"Well...well...well...who would have thought a talentless coward would have been such an issue?" I heard a voice say...I knew that voice...where did I hear it before.

"What does she want with you? I have no idea...but you better be as useful as she says you are...I took the risk of running into that Nikos girl to come and get you." I felt my body being lifted up...where was I going...who was this woman...why did I feel...afraid?

* * *

 **LATER IN AN UNDICLOSED LOCATION**

"Well well, not exactly who I was planning on taking captive...but his aura reserves...even I have to say they are impressive." The voice of an old witch said as she surveyed their prisoner who was currently under sedation.

"I don't see why you wanted him...that Nikos girl would have been more useful as a weapon." Another voice said as the woman turned to her.

"Do not question me! Or should I remind you why I am in charge!" The younger woman backed off, not wanting to earn the ire of the leader.

"O-Of course...you're in charge...but why? What good is he?" The young woman asked as the older one smirked.

"Well...we have all heard of the tales of the white knight, coming in to save his princess at the last second...everyone cheers, everyone cries out in joy, and they live happily ever after...but what they never tell you...is the story of a black knight, one who falls from grace, who doesn't save the day and turns on his friends, the one who instead of helping them achieve their goals, destroys their ambition, destorys their will to live...and destroys their very will to fight, That Nikos girl may have been stronger, but this boy...he is the symbol of purity...so innocent, and yet one so innocent, can be easily corrupted...to be persuaded. The girl would have put up a fight, but this boy...he will be much easier to manipulate." The voice said as she placed a hand on the boys head.

"Of course...we will need to make some...adjustments...can't have him betraying us now can we?" She said as energy flowed from her hand onto the forehead of one Jaune Arc.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" A scream of agonizing pain roared out from the not so dead corpse of the boy.

"What are you doing?!" The voice from earlier cried out in shock.

"Well...with his aura, he has the potential to be a dangerous foe to us...I am simply...hampering him to make sure that never happens." She said inflicting even more pain and suffering on the boy at hand.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" He couldn't stop screaming in pain, he didn't think he would feel pain when he was dead...but no...turns out it was just amplified.

"Won't that just make him angrier when he wakes up?" The voice from earlier asked.

"Anger we can use, besides, with a bit of memory manipulation and a few reminders to be a good servant...he won't be able to do anything to us...in fact...I'll say he may prove to be a more loyal servant than you." She said while continuing to make her...adjustments to the young Arc.

"I don't see how turning him into a whipped dog counts as loyalty." She said while feeling a small measure of pity for the boy.

"Well, I will admit...it is rather fun to torture him this way!" The woman exclaimed with a sadistic grin on her face.

And to think...this was just the beginning.

* * *

 **OVER TIME**

Pain after agonizing pain, experiment after experiment, near death experience to near death experience. Jaune Arc had been though it all, whoever this woman was who kidnapped him..she was one sadistic bitch. At first he thought he was dreaming or having a nightmare. And yet as it just went on, it occured to him how real it was. The pain never stopped, the torture never stopped, and every single hour that went by...he could feel parts of himself slipping away. At times he forgot why he was here...her forgot who he was...he couldn't even remember what he did that got him on the shit list of the woman who was torturing him.

But the worst part...he forgot her...the woman who had roamed his dreams...the woman who would comfort him after the hours of torture...he couldn't even remember her face...she was now but a distant memory...At first, he missed her...but thanks to his new Mistress...she taught him a new emotion...Rage. It was all that consumed him, all that he knew, all that he could use.

And yet...why was none of it directed at the woman who was doing it to him...why was it being directed elsewhere? It made no sense...why was he attached to this woman who had hurt him? What had she done for him?

She had tortured him...she had experimented on him...she had...replaced his natural limbs with stolen technology from Atlas...the top secret prosthetic limb designs, the kind that were not even supposed to exist for another fifty years, all he knew was that he didn't feel like himself anymore. But then again...who was he before? What was his name? What did he do? Why was he here? These were all things that escaped him.

Nothing seemed to matter, at times even the torture didn't matter, he had learned to take it as a regular thing...making it seem rather boring. Course, as this went over, he found himself resisiting less, and even stopped caring. He just...didn't have any will to fight this woman.

At first he resisted, trying to attack him, swearing at her, but as time went on...it became less frequent, he didn't rebel as much, and he even felt himself slipping. Often referring to her in a respectful tone...why? Why did he do that? And why couldn't he resist?

She didn't stop there, after all the experiments...his skin...did not look healthy...it had turned a deathly pale, and almost seemed to be covered in old scars, amazing how even even with Aura you could still Scar, you just had to put in the effort to make the scars permanent.

He could feel her making more changes, first the cyborg limbs, then the scars, and then the changes to his state of mind...everything that he was, everything that he stood for...it meant nothing...because he could remember nothing? Who he was before didn't matter anymore. He had even grown to hate who he was before for not being strong enough to standing up to the bitch who had done this to him.

"And now...the finishing touch." The voice said as he opened his eyes, the only feature about him that hadn't changed. His hair had fallen out due to the excessive damage, his skin was damaged all over, his limbs were not his own, his eyes were the only thing that connected him to his past. And even then...she was about to take that away from him.

"An associate of mine based this off an atlesian design...it was never approved of course...considered to be useless...and yet with the right modifications...can be quite useful...Almost like you." She said as she traced his cheek.

"You were nothing before...you were always nothing...and yet I made you better, you cannot say that your limbs were as strong as they were before can you? These limbs are three times as strong as your original ones...the armor you're wearing, is some of the best ever made...and this helmet...while odd...will only seek to strike fear into the hearts of your enemies." She said as she placed it on his head.

"Do you understand? I didn't just do all of this to torture you...I did this...to make you even stronger...now tell me...how do you feel?" She said as she stood back as he was finally allowed to stand.

He wanted to kill her, he wanted to hurt her, he wanted to prove her wrong...but...he couldn't. His new limbs did indeed feel stronger, his armor was made up of the finest tech in the world. He wanted to hate her...but found he couldn't. After being stuck here for so long, he knew what she was capable of, and it would be foolish to go against her...there was just...no hope for him.

He put the helmet on...as he couldn't stand to look at his own face...he felt like he was looking at a total stranger...and in a way...he was. He had no idea who he was before, he had no idea who he was now...all he knew was that he was a servant...and he would be foolish to go against his master.

"So tell me...how do you feel? She asked as the figure stood up to his full height of 6'5''..the limbs did wonders for him.

"I feel...stronger." he said as he tested his right limb.

"Good...now I have a gift for you." She said as a white fang member came forward with a sword and sheath.

"I have had this sitting around for awhile, while it may not seem like much, the blade is of a rare metal said to be indestructible. I find that it will suit you well." She said as the figured in black gripped the sword.

The sword itself was like a hand and a half sword. But it felt lighter, the dark figure knew he could easily use this in one hand or in both, the blade itself was blood red, while he didn't understand that, all he knew was that this sword felt like it was made for him, and yet...he couldn't shake the feeling that he had another sword not so long ago.

"Now...I doubt you remember your name...so what should we call you?" She asked as she couldn't refer to him as Arc...he was no longer that person.

"...Vader..." He said not knowing why the name came to him.

"Very well...come then Vader...we have work to do.


	2. Mourning

**Okay, so here we go, another Chapter for Darth Arc, to be honest, I was disappointed in the first chapter, but hey, I'm still working out the details. Surprisingly this one is doing better than my Punisher story, which I plan to update after this one.**

* * *

 **IN AN UNKNOWN LOCATION**

A red headed amazon was laying down in bed staring at the ceiling. It had been months since the fall of beacon, and they definately did not come out unscathed. Yang while awake, suffered from depression for awhile at the thought of losing her arm and possibly her future as a huntress. It wasn't until Ruby knocked some sense into her that she finally got back on her own feet. General Ironwood was kind enough to supply her with a prosthetic arm, combined with her other Ember Celica gauntlet, it now extended up her arm covering it in a much thicker and surprisingly agile armor that she had now nicknamed the golden fleece.

Blake was still missing, Yang had made it her personal mission to find their feline friend...while she said it was because she wanted to talk to her partner, there was also a large hint that pointed to the fact that she was going to throw a few punches. The red head sighed and turned over in bed, she was having trouble sleeping ever since the day that Beacon fell. She wasn't the only one, the others had problems too.

Most of them were plagued by nightmares, most of the Grimm or the amber eyed woman who had been the ruin of the academy. It was a haunting image that they couldn't get out of their head. But for her...they were...a little more personal.

She was running in the darkness, completely shrouded in shadow. She was trying to find something, but she couldn't. And no matter how fast she ran, she couldn't seem to catch up to whatever it was she was chasing. She would feel her heart racing, her mind begging her to stop, but she couldn't stop, she needed to find what she was looking for. And then there was the voice that called out to her. The one that haunted her memories.

 _"Pyrrha..."_ His voice always made her go cold.

In her dream, she would always look around, hoping to find the voice...she knew who it belonged to.

Her former Team mate and love interest, Jaune Arc.

 _"Pyrrha...why did you leave?"_ The voice called out to her again as she felt tears gather in her eyes.

 _"Do you know...what I have become?"_ And that was the moment when she woke up. Unable to go back to sleep.

She found she was always sweating as if she was actually running, and more than once and she had to wipe her eyes because she had been crying in her sleep. Everyday since that fateful day, she had not been able to stop the nightmares. The doctor prescribed her something to help, but they always came through.

In a way she blamed herself, it was supposed to be her who died that day. Not Jaune...never Jaune. And yet he took the killing blow for her, for a teammate who had tricked him and sent him away. And yet he came back for her, but what good did it do him? It got him killed, and Pyrrha could not let her guilt...or her love go. She had always heard about people suffering from a broken heart and always thought it was ridiculous, but when she met Jaune, she finally understood what people went through every day. She actually disliked it, here she was, the invincible girl, and her heart mourned the loss, she felt fragile and vulnerable. And to top it all off, the person who would help comfort her...or at least try to was no longer with them.

But she had listened to him, he told her to run and help in any way she could, and she had run off to help the others, and to save what was left of the city. But it didn't matter, because in the end, the city was taken, but Pyrrha still had to keep her one promise. She promised that she would come back for him. But when she made it back to the tower, the only thing left was his sword and shield, the worst part was that there were griffons surrounding the area where his body had been.

At that point, she lost all control, she hacked, she slashed, she butchered the Grimm. She had promised to come back for him, she had promised to give him a proper burial, but instead, it seemed as if his remains were eaten by some soulless monsters who would never understand the sacrifice he made. He didn't deserve that, he didn't deserve to end up a pile of Grimm shit in a forest somewhere. After she had killed every single griffon in the tower, she had taken his weapons, after all, they were the only things she had left of him.

The sword was in the corner of her room, no matter what she couldn't bear to bury the sword somewhere or use it as a grave marker, the sword in itself was still in fine shape. Of course, it was made during the time of the great war, the smiths of that time did not mess around with their steel, often taking days and even weeks to temper their weapons to be in the perfect condition. His shield remained in the sheath form. And in order to give him a proper burial, she found a few of his personal possessions from his room and buried them in a box in the ground. It wasn't much, some Comic books, some clattering teeth, and his copy of their team picture.

Speaking of teams, they...had not been doing so well.

When Nora had found out about Jaune, she nearly went on a rampage, she knew Nora could get excited, but she had never seen her truly enraged, it was scary to see the happy go lucky girl act like that. However, it didn't last long, after Nora had killed every single Grimm in the area, she just broke down and cried. Jaune was like a brother to her...and now he was gone, and she never even got to say goodbye. It...was a horrifying feeling.

Ren had faired better, he had gone to comfort Nora, but he was suffering on the inside. Though he didn't talk much, he did see Jaune as a brother, even if he had often found himself in some of the most awkward situations, such as the time Jaune yanked him out of the shower in just a towel to ask for advice. Still while that may have been embarrassing, he would have gladly gone through that again if it meant Jaune could come back from the dead. Ren never had a family, both Nora and Him were orphans, and when they arrived at beacon, their team became their family, and now that family was one member short, it was something they had never felt before, and they didn't like it. At times he caught himself wondering if it was better to never have a family to begin with...than to have one and lose one...he hated himself for thinking that, but sometimes he couldn't help but wonder...

What if?

Team RWBY did not fare well either when they got the news.

Yang had been suffering from depression at the time, but learning that the loveable vomit boy had been killed in battle. It only made her feel worse, at times she wondered what was worse, the emotional pain, or the pain she felt in the stub of her arm. She went with the emotional pain because at least the physical pain would fade away in a week or two...but emotional damage, that took longer to heal.

Ruby had...not taken the news well. She had reacted almost like Nora, but soon, just like with Penny's death, she had burst out in tears. The scary thing was that when she had cried out in agony, they could have sworn they saw something change...a slight glowing in her eyes. Qrow had seen the change, and immediately had taken her aside to talk with her. She was hurt, but she knew that if Qrow stopped drinking to talk to you, than you had better listen. To be honest, it didn't make sense to her, suddenly she receives word that she's some prophesied or ancient type of warrior capable of great power. And yet she was still powerless to help save her friend?

If she only knew what was going on...if she knew just how much danger Jaune would have been in, she would have gone after him and help him in any way she could have.

Weiss...well, she had taken the news slightly better, she had never really gotten along with Jaune at first, mostly due to his annoying attempts at flirting, even when she had clearly established she was not interested in him. Honestly, she thought it was never going to end, her dislike of the blond that is. But then, he had proven himself to be the bigger man when he did the one thing she didn't expect him to do. He let her go, Neptune had told her about the night that Jaune talked to him, how he had convinced him to go and talk to her. She laughed when he told her the reason that he didn't want to go to the dance was because he couldn't dance. Well...she laughed, but she was also a little mad. Kind of a weird reason to turn someone down, but she forgave him all the same.

Then Jaune proved himself to be a capable warrior, and she had even begun to have a genuine friendship with him. Hell she had even gotten in on the betting pool to see how long it would take for Jaune and Pyrrha to get together...Unfortunately, no one won that bet.

Blake...well, once again, she was out there somewhere, running from all of this, at least thats what they assumed, she never said a word, she just ran as soon as she healed up. Whatever was happening, it had scared the hell out of Blake.

But what had really happened was that not only did she blame herself for Yang losing an arm, but by extension, she even blamed herself for Jaune's death, Adam was working with the woman that had killed him. The white fang were obviously a powerful ally of hers, and look at what happened. The invasion took place and resulted in the deaths of not just Jaune. but hundreds of innocent people. In a way, she was running from her guilt.

But that wasn't all...she was going to find Adam...and she was going to kill him. The love she once had for him...had turned into a fiery hate...or had it?

Back to Pyrrha, she had definitely taken it the worst, her dream of her and Jaune being together had come true, and within minutes it was ripped away from her. Talk about your worst nightmares coming to life.

Since then, she had been searching for Cinder, hoping to get revenge on her for what she did...but it was hard to keep a lock on her. One day she was in one part of the world, and within another day she was on the other side of the globe, and if that wasn't big enough of a problem, there was also the multiple sightings and people who thought they had seen it, but it turned out to be either a dead end or a case of crying wolf.

Granted she wanted revenge, but at the time she wanted answers, or more specifically...

Why?

Why had Cinder done this? Why did she choose to kill so many innocent people? What did she gain from it?

And after she had gotten her answers, then she would finish him, like she should have done on that tower.

"Pyrrha..." Ruby said from the entrance to her room.

"Hey Ruby...am I needed upstairs?" She asked as Ruby shook her head.

"No...its lunch time...did you forget?" She asked as Pyrrha looked a the clock.

"Oh...sorry, its just...I get so distracted sometimes." She says as Ruby looked over at Crocea Mors.

"You know...its a shame you're letting her sit in a corner and rust." Ruby said as Pyrrha made an angry face.

"EXCUSE ME?" She asked as Ruby held up her hands in defense.

"What I mean is...don't you think it would be of better use if it you used it? Sort of a way of honoring...him?" She said still unable to say his name.

"No...I can't...thats his weapon." She said as sometimes she couldn't even stand to look at it without remembering him.

"Pyrrha...he cared about you...I think he would want you to have it." Ruby said as Pyrrha sighed.

"Even if I did use Crocea Mors, it would never feel right, while I may use a sword and shield, his weapons are strange to adjust to...besides in a way...its almost as if its...missing him." She said as Ruby raised an eyebrow.

"What?" She asked clearly not understanding what the hell Pyrrha was saying.

"Well...I tried to use it...but everytime, I felt this feeling on pain..anger...suffering surround me, I know sentient weapons aren't possible, but it was almost like I was holding a posessed blade." She said as she couldn't explain it.

While she could use a sword and shield, she couldn't help but feel that Crocea Mors was rejecting her as a wielder.

Ruby sighed again as she walked over to Pyrrha.

"Come on...we should try and get something to eat...Uncle Qrow has an assignment for us...and right now, we need something to take our minds off of this." She said as Pyrrha nodded.

She took one last look at Crocea Mors before she shut the door, The sword gave off one last glint of light before being surrounded by darkness again.

* * *

 **WITH SALEM AND VADER**

Salem was really starting to enjoy her new servant. At first she thought she was getting a raw deal with that Nikos girl getting away, but this boy, he had untapped potential. His Aura was massive even when she compared it with hers, and he was still fairly young, and based on her intel, he had only unlocked his Aura during his initiation at Beacon, to think what he could have done if he started at a younger age.

Vader did not remember anything from his past life, and he had grown submissive to her as a result. When she told him to train, he trained, when she told him to quite speaking, he would be silent, and when she told him to kill...well he killed.

Unforturnately he had made short work of many of the white fang grunts she had spar against him. The blade which he recently named Atra Mors had proven to be a force to be reckoned with. She couldn't figure out why he seemed to be improving fast, especially since he was an average student at best back during his schooling. Did Ozpin really get that lax in his academics?

She scoffed at the thought, how arrogant to let your students grow lazy.

"Vader!" She called out as the masked man immediately came over.

"Yes Mistress." He said in his deep voice...the helmet also seemed to act as a voice muffler, often making him sound completely different when he wore it. (Obviously he sounds like James Earl jones with it on, come on can't have Darth Vader without James Earl Jones.)

"I have a mission for you, I find that this should be a good test of your abilities." She said as he flexed his hands.

Another thing that had progressed over the months was discovering his semblance. Which surprisingly was Telekinesis. She had figured it would be something to do with defense, but instead his was shockingly a power of the mind, then again, he did seem to have an easy time making up solutions and plans on the spot. It was something she could even find herself respecting in times.

"Seems like our partners in the white fang have begun to question our authority...I believe you should...educate them otherwise. Report to Mercury in order to receive details of the base you will be infiltrating, or should I say visiting." She said as Vader nodded.

"It will be done." He said as she held a hand up.

"One more thing Vader." She said as he turned to look at her.

"If anyone gets in your way, kill them, if they choose to act against you, I am sure you will be able to handle them." She said as he turned around to leave once again.

"Time to see how powerful he really is, I would hate to have to go through the trouble of finding another slave."


	3. Everyday Life

**Okay, so I got around to writing another chapter for this. Now I'm not good at writing action scenes or fight scenes, that being said, there really isn't one in this chapter, not until later in the story.**

 **Also I know I was going to update Punisher after the last chapter of Darth Arc, but my computer crashed and deleted all my progress on that fic, so heres this one again.**

 **Now someone messaged me asking why I didn't make Jaune's semblance defensive as it probably is in the show, well because Telekinesis makes sense if he is Darth Vader.**

* * *

 **VADER**

Vader had taken a bullhead towards the location Salem had given him. Over the time that he was in the cargo bay, he had time to think to himself. Obviously he knew that he was in the service of Salem, but why couldn't he remember anything from before then? In fact in seemed like everyday that passed, he had forgotten more and more about his life before. Who was he before he came to be in the service of Salem? He tried to think, but nothing came up. Eventually he just went about ignoring it. Whoever he was beforehand, he imagined that he must have been similar to what he was like now. But as far as he knew, he was a loyal servant.

His training had surprisingly come to him easily, almost as if he had done this before. Maybe he did in his previous life, and while he did not remember much, he was grateful that he had time to train in his past, Vader found that he could not tolerate weakness, whether it was from himself or from any of his sparring partners...Needless to say Salem had gotten some other grunt to clean up the mess, some raggedy old person with a bad leg was usually in charge of cleaning it up. But he didn't care, if his so called sparring partners couldn't keep up in a simple sparring match, then they didn't deserve to live to go out on the battlefield.

He had grown strong in the coming months, he never seemed to stop training, after all he didn't really have anything else to do, either train, eat a rather unappetizing meal, or try to sleep. Emphasis on the 'try.' Since he had come into Salem's employ, he could not sleep. Whenever he closed his eyes, he remembered the pain, the amputation of his limbs by a cloaked figure. He could never seem to remember anything other than that.

He looked over the blade of Atra Mors, in reality, this was the only thing he trusted, while Salem was merely his Master, and his fellow servants had been around, this was his only friend, this blade had never hurt him, it had never tried to kill him, it had never tried to betray him. So he trusted it. In a way, he couldn't help that Salem was hiding something from him, but he had seen first hand what she was capable...a specific incident came to mind.

A month into his training, he had grown angry at his Mistress's cryptic way of speaking and challenged her to a duel...the result was...catastrophic.

He had never felt so outclassed in his life, he had been killing grunts day by day, but this woman...she was more than he had ever fought, more than he had ever seen. She was much more dangerous than one would expect. Vader remembered that fight well, he had suffered a collapsed lung, a few broken bones, as well as suffering from a concussion. While the bones and concussion had healed, his breathing was a problem.

As it turns out, Aura had a hard time healing vital organs, so his lung was permanently damaged, in which case Salem had fitted a breathing apparatus into his helmet, while it did help with that problem, it was yet another thing that added to his sleeping problems. His loud breathing often made it so he could not sleep. Not like it matter either way, he could never have a peaceful night of sleep anyways.

"Lord Vader...we are nearing the drop off point." The pilot said as he didn't feel comfortable with this...'thing' in the back.

He had a very bad feeling about this guy, this new servant of Salem, he just seemed to radiate hate, and had this aura about him that made you feel like wetting yourself. Add that on to his helmet which felt like he was staring into two black souless orbs...he didn't like to look at him.

Plus there was his reputation, how he had killed every single man who had ever gone up against him in a duel, granted the real world was much different, but how could anyone be so ruthless? While Vader's face may have been obscured by that helmet, he had always imagined him as being an emotionless killer robot, even under the mask. He just couldn't see him as anything else.

"Very well, what is our ETA?" Vader asked as the pilot felt cold just at the sound of his voice.

"Five minutes." He said as he was praying that this was over soon.

Minute after minute passed by. And boy could their arrival not come any quicker, as soon as he dropped Vader off, he flied off as was instructed. And he couldn't be happier to get away from that thing. What the hell was his boss thinking having someone like that around?

"So...it begins." Vader said as he walked towards the white fang base.

"Halt! We don't take any visitors here!" One of the masked faunus said as Vader stopped.

"I have business here, I would suggest you move out of the way." He said as the faunus on the right scoffed.

"Ha! And what business would that be Tin man?" He asked as Vader narrowed his eyes from behind his helmet.

"You have been lax on your promises to my Mistress." He said as they laughed.

"Mistress?! What kind of freak are you?! One of those BDSM crazies! Ha! What a laugh, who is you Mistress Mr. Dark and Broody?" He asked as Vader responded back.

"You should know her, she was the one who helped organize your little attack on Beacon." He said as they looked afraid for a second before they steeled themselves.

"Ha! Big Deal, we got what we wanted, and the boss said we don't have to worry about you guys no more, now beat it Robocop." The deer faunus said as vader clenched a gloved hand.

"I warn you, if you do not listen there will be consequences." He said as he was slowly reaching for his sword.

"Oh yeah? Like what Tin m-" The wolf faunus was cut off as he was bisected.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" The deer said as he pointed his gun at Vader and fired.

Only for the bullets to bounce off his armor.

"I warned you." He said as he turned to the other faunus.

"Hey! Wait I'll open the door please do-" He was soon decapitated by a very angry Vader.

"She did say if I encountered any resistance, than I was to retaliate, It's not my fault they don't know how to listen." He said as he opened the door to the base.

And then...all hell broke loose.

* * *

 **WITH THE BEACON STUDENTS**

Pyrrha felt a chill go up her spine for some reason. But she shook it off, she had been getting those for the past six months, she figured it was just something random. She had come to lunch with Ruby.

Luckily the base they were staying at did have quality food, well not exactly quality, but it was good enough that you didn't have to force yourself to eat it. But not good enough that you would ask for seconds. You simply ate what you were served, and then you were back out in the field again. They had mostly been working on getting rid of any Grimm around smaller settlements, while this may not seem like much, the larger armies were handling the larger cities, unforturnately that was hard to do considering the amount of refugees that had tried to attack them. And who could blame them? Everyone saw Atlas attack Vale, it had made the relations tense. The civilians couldn't see they were trying to help, so they had formed their own militia groups to fight back against both the Grimm, and the Atlas Military.

From what Pyrrha had heard, conflict had erupted all over the globe, and while it wasn't full blown war yet, as the Grimm and the white fang were becoming a much bigger problem, you could tell each country had their weapons aimed at each other in case of a world war.

To think, half a year ago it wasn't like this, things were peaceful..or at least she thought they were, and then Ozpin led her to that underground chamber...and revealed the truth to her. It made her wonder if they were ever truly at peace or if it was just an illusion.

"Nora, you really should try to take smaller bites." Ren told his friend.

"Sorry Ren, I'm just really eager to get back in the field." She said with a small smile.

That was one thing that hadn't changed, Nora's love for battle was still intact, while Jaune's death may have been hard on her, and for awhile she had been just as depressed as Pyrrha, Ren eventually knocked some sense into her.

 _"Jaune wouldn't want to see us like this Nora, look at us, we're sitting here crying because we lost someone, but everyday out there, more and more people die, and we can't be bothered to see past our own grief, if we don't face our own weaknesses, how can we help anyone in this world? I know things are dark right now, but that doesn't mean we should only see the world as Dark. If there is one thing that Jaune taught me, it was that life could be free and beautiful, and while bad things happen every day, it doesn't mean that its hopeless to go, we have to strive to make things better, if we don't work to make the world a better place, then we doom ourselves to live our lives in misery. I know things seem hopeless right now, but you know what, the world has been in bad shape before, the faunus rebellion, the wars that came before our time, all horrible times that everyone thought meant the end of the world, and yet they never gave up trying to make things better. No matter how many things went wrong, no matter how much evil was in the world, they kept going on. Because they believed that life could be better, that Humanity and Faunus could move on from the tragedy, and while things are still tense, as evidenced by recent events, we cannot forget that things do get better, it may take a year, it may take a decade, it may take a century, but if we let time pass us by without lifting a finger to change things for the better, and instead choose to sit around and cry about what could have been or what we want, than nothing will ever change, we will resign ourselves to our doom."_ Ren told her.

To be honest, he felt slightly hypocritical when he said that, because he was determined to do the same thing that Nora and the others did, but he would remind himself of that every day, he could help make a difference in the world, with every Grimm that he killed, he had made the world safer for those who could not help themselves. Everytime he had helped a refugee who was starving, he felt like he had helped saved the world. Whenever they took down a group of white fang terrorists, he felt like he had taken part of a a larger scheme to rid the world of evil.

He had to keep looking forward, he honestly believed that the good in the world was worth fighting for. And that no matter how bleak things may be, they could always get better, it was the will of even the smallest person who could make a change in the world. So Ren kept fighting.

There were some days where he didn't want to fight, but he would always be on the battlefield ready to brawl. And while the fighting wasn't no where near finished. He would continue to believe that things would be different one day.

He had given Pyrrha the same speech, and while she was mostly out of her depression, she had still taken Jaune's death the hardest. As was her right, after all, he died right in her arms based on what she had told them. As a result she had become quite ruthless when she came across any enemy, her title as the invincible girl was very well earned. As he could remember how many Grimm and terrorists she had defeated by herself...with just her shield.

If he had to describe how he felt about the situation, he would say that he was glad that Pyrrha was his teammate and ally. And occassionally he almost felt sorry for whatever poor bastard she went up against.

Key word being almost.

* * *

 **BACK AT THE WHITE FANG BASE**

"I'm telling you, we need to send more troops to our outpost in Mistral. All they need is a little push to take a key city in the campaign." Adam told his subordinate.

"But sir, all the others have already been deployed to the four kingdoms, unless you can find some way to recruit some of the refugees, its not going to be easy to continue this fight." His subordinate squeaked out as Adam glared at him.

"Shouldn't be too hard to find new recruits, with all the chaos going around, I guarantee you any faunus will take the opportunity to join us, after all, why not join the group that is completely Faunus, and is offering you security in these troubled times?" He asked as he looked away.

It was partially true, most of the faunus who had seen Atlas attack had immediately joined the White Fang for protection, however there were also some who actually joined Atlas as well as some of the resistance fighters against the white fang. At this point it was more about who could gain the most troops.

But the thing about the major kingdoms is that because they had upgraded their soldiers to robots, they had cut back severely on live soldiers, seeing it as a way to save lives during a conflict. But after the major malfunction and hacking of the Atlas Robots, they had taken precautions, and unfortunately had to instate a draft to bring in more soldiers. To think that their own technology wold be easily used against them. Course, with every single faunus that avoided the draft in their respective kingdoms, they had found their way into the arm of the white fang.

Adam had a different method, while he believed that his people deserved the freedom of choice, during this conflict he had given them an option, either choose to join them of your own free will, or you can refuse to join and die. So either way those people got screwed over. Course Adam was too far gone in his insanity to see the faults in his own thinking.

"Oh my god..." His subordinate said as he looked foward.

Adam focused his eyes on their base...or should he say, what was left of it. The base was in flames, the stone walls were crumbling, and he could see flames sticking out from cracks and holes made in the roof.

What happened? This was an abandoned Vale military base, said to be built to last, and yet it was currently in flames.

"Sir...who is that?" Subordiante Bob said as he pointed at a figure walking towards them.

He saw a black billowing cape surrounding an armored individual. He didn't see a face, all he saw was a black helmet, in his hand was a simple black longsword. And while it may not seem like much, the fact that there was so much blood dripping off the blade showed that this guy was no friendly.

"Adam Taurus..." He said as he walked forward as Adam drew his weapon.

"You picked the wrong target...Friend." He said as he charged forward.

Only to have his breath cut off. The sudden lack of air caused him to drop his weapon and reach for his neck.

"Now now, I find your lack of formality disturbing." He said as Adam was struggling for air.

"W-What do you want?!" He asked as he couldn't break this stranglehold.

"My Mistress is displeased with you, you see I work for the woman behind your little invasion...and when she heard that you were going rogue, well...you can imagine her reaction." He said as Adam glared at him.

"So what she sent you to burn down our base?! Huh, maybe she's not so tough after all." He said as he could feel this...things glare intensify.

"The hundreds of burning bodies in there seem to think otherwise." He said as he tightened his telekinetic grip on the faunus leader's throat.

"I will give you one warning, luckily my Mistress seems to have a use for you, so she had given me an order to let you live...I'm afraid that can't be said about your soldiers though...pity, maybe you should have trained them more." Vader said as he released his grip.

"W...What kind of monster are you?" Adam said as he looked at the armored figure.

"The kind who serves his leaders, as I imagine you will do from now on...if you don't, I will make what I did here seem like a day at Church compared to what I will do to you." Vader said as he walked away.

"And whats stopping me from killing you now?" Adam asked as the black figure looked back on him.

"The fact that you will not be able to get close enough to touch me, and I don't imagine you would want my Mistress coming out here herself do you?" He said as Adam felt a sweatdrop go down his head.

If he was talking about that Cinder lady, and considering she had just had him burn down his base and slaughter all of his men...maybe it would be best to heed the warning.

"If you ever come around here again...I'll kill you." He said as Vader glared.

"If I ever come around here again, I'll be sure you are the first to die."


	4. An Old Friend

**Okay, so The Punisher is currently going through development hell, seems like the only one I can work on without my computer going nuts is Darth Arc and an idea for a one shot I have going.**

 **That and it is much easier to write for Darth Arc then it is for the Punisher. This one just pops into my head a lot quicker.**

* * *

 **BACK AT THE WITCHES COVE**

"Seems like your training has gone well." Salem said as she walked back and forth while Vader was down on one knee.

"Not well enough I'm afraid, it still took me so long to take out what were basically civilians in a halloween costume." He said as Salem waved him off.

"Be that as it may, your mission was to strike fear into the primary White Fang leader, which you did." She said as Vader just continued to listen.

In all honesty, he did feel mad at himself. He had let himself get caught off guard a few times, if the few nicks in his armor was any indication. He had not used his telekinesis for any of the grunts, as he felt it would be a waste. There were very few of them who actually had any skill, once again they were responsible for the nicks in his armor. Since he figured that he was basically taking out the trash, then none would pose a real challenge. He was only about 80% right, and while he did want to fight Adam, he obeyed his orders. And he had seen what happened when Salem was angry, and he didn't want to be on the receiving end of her wrath again.

"If I can, I would like to go down to the danger room and train, I cannot let my skills dull." He said as he stood back up.

"Of course, I'll send a few down to train with you." She said as Vader walked away.

She smirked, he was proving to be a useful tool. While she was mad she couldn't get the girl as she had originally planned. She dared say this boy was a much more useful puppet. Take away his memories, his will to live, and make him hate, and you get an unstoppable killing machine. To be honest, she wasn't entirely sure if he was going to come back alive from the white fang base, after all they had much more advanced weaponry as well as superior numbers. And yet he had slaughtered them like pigs at a slaughter house. And to think he didn't even use his semblance on any of the grunts, he had managed to kill all of them with his sword. She knew that some of those grunts were armed with state of the art atlesian rifles, the kind that could pierce through any armor, and he hadn't been hit by a single one...obviously he was a lot faster than his size would make you think.

"Well, I think he has proven to be useful, don't you think Ozpin?" Salem said as she turned to the cloaked man with the limp.

Upon closer inspection you would see that he had scraggly silver hair that had not been taken care of in awhile, and his face was now marred with an ugly scar that went from his ear to the corner of his right lip.

"You don't actually expect me to congratulate you do you?" He said while glaring at the woman.

"No not really, why I would have thought that you would appreciated watching your student get stronger." She said as she could feel Ozpin's anger, his glare was now fully on her.

"You haven't made him stronger, you made him a slave, you tortured him, you crippled him, how can I appreciate you destroying the life of one of my students?" Ozpin fired back.

He had unfortunately been forced to watch as Jaune Arc was turned into Vader, the torture, the limb implants, he had even been there to clean up the blood that Vader had lost when he fought Salem for the first and last time. He had been there as he had that infernal breathing apparatus permanently attached. With every day that passed, Jaune had been turned from a fun loving student, to an enraged mass murderer.

"Now now Oz, I saved his life if you don't remember." She said as she was just trying to get a rise out of the man.

"After your subordinate nearly killed him." He said as her eyes flashed red and Ozpin felt a sickening pain in his other leg.

"Ah, you have no idea how satisfying that is, the once great Ozpin being forced to the ground in pain." She said as Ozpin gritted his teeth and looked back at her.

"This is nothing, compared to what you have done to him." He said as she had just dislocated his ankle, nothing that Aura wouldn't fix.

"Most likely not, but no, I find that having you as a lackey is strangely suitable. I didn't know you cared for Vader so much." She said as she poured a glass of wine for herself.

"I don't care for Lord Vader, I care for Jaune." He said as he leaned up against a wall.

Salem had placed an inhibitor on him, it had restricted him from using his aura in a fight, add that to the fact that his body at this point was too weak to fight back, there was nothing he could do. The inhibitor limited his abilities, but didn't hinder them enough to heal his minor wounds and bruises, just the way she wanted it, so he could suffer, but he would recover just enough for the suffering to continue.

"That boy is dead, he was weak, I merely breathed life back into him." She said as she sat down on what appeared to be a throne.

"Thats not life,t hats purgatory." He said as she just smirked.

"Oh Oz, you think that your words will have an effect on me...but they really don't. I don't care who I have to hurt as long as I accomplish what I set out to do." She said as Oz took one last glance at her.

"You're right, my words are not enough, but I guarantee you, your time will come." He said as she just laughed.

"Ozpin Ozpin Ozpin...always the optimist, who is going to stop me? The fall maiden? Cinder has that taken care of? Your precious students? They don't even know who I am? And even if they did, there is no way they would get past Vader." She stated with confidence as Ozpin limped away.

"Not now...but they will get stronger...I just hope its not too late." He said to himself as he went back to his duties.

To think, the once great headmaster had been reduced to a lowly slave, heh, I guess that was something him and Vader had in common.

* * *

 **BACK WITH TEAMS NPR and RY (Weiss is back in Atlas)**

"Just another horde of beowolves, you think that we would be thinning out the herd by now." Yang said as she was actually sweating from the fight.

They had gotten sent out on another Grimm extermination mission, that seemed to be the best thing they could do at the moment. Being former huntresses in training, the world needed as many as they could get. And while they had done their part to take out as many Grimm as they could. Its almost as if something was causing them to multiply in recent weeks.

"Well you know how things have been, they have been running Rampant all over Remnant." Ruby said as she sliced right through another one.

She may have liked being the hero, but there was only so many Grimm she could kill before she started to get irritated. Seriously she knew it was going to be tough, but is this what Goodwitch and Ozpin had to deal with on a daily basis? Her respect for the two had doubled in the time she had spent in the field.

Nora was of course happy just to crush some skulls, but even she was getting bored, the beowolves were no match for her grenades, and one blow to the head from Magnhild in hammer form was enough to kill them, it was like crushing a melon. Ren was as calm as ever, but honestly he was getting tired, not just in patience, but also in physicality. Fighting this many Grimm for so long had really strained him out.

Pyrrha was a machine, forward flash, shield bash, one kill, repeat. She had considered this therapy in the past few days. Because her nightmares had been getting worse.

She was with Jaune, but it was different. Instead it was the night after the dance, but instead of them going back to the dorm after the dance, they had been laying on a blanket looking up at the moon. Pyrrha laying her head on his shoulder just listening to his heart beat. At first she thought this was a pleasant dream, but things soon went south. As Pyrrha listened to the sound of the heartbeat. She would notice it would start to get faster...and faster...and faster.

Then she would look at him, only to see that he was spasming, as if he was having a problem with his heart, she tried to help him, tried to call for help, but no one would answer, blood would leak from his ears, his nose, his mouth, and even from his eyes. The screams of pain becoming unbearable for her to hear, and she would rock herself back and forth trying to help him. And then, it would be gone, just like that, He would be laying on the blanket, not making any noise, not making any movement. The only sound that indicated he was alive...was a deep rasping breathing.

It was at that moment she always woke up. Why did she keep having these dreams? She cared about Jaune, but she was really wishing the nightmares would go away, well that and she just wanted to stop dreaming about him all the time. Even when she had a pleasant dream, even when it was a rare occassion, he was always in her dreams. Usually they would be doing something like a couple, whether it be going out to dinner, having fun at the park, or even shoving ice cream in each other's faces. Whenever she woke up from those dreams, she had to deal with the reality that she would never get to experience that with him. At times it was even worse than the nightmares.

With the nightmares she would feel relief that she knew how Jaune died, and it wasn't nearly as painful as she had seen in those terrifying dreams. But with her happy dreams, they only made her feel soul crushing regret, because they reminded her of a life she could have had. And that was even worse.

"Well, thats the last of them." Pyrrha stated as she looked around at the corpses turning to dust.

"Hey P money, you alright? It looks like you were crying?" Yang asked as Pyrrha wiped her face.

Yep, sure enough there were tears.

"Oh its nothing, just got some dust in my eye, No Nora not the kind you use, I mean the regular dirt and sand kind of dust." She said as she found that Nora would worry about the effects of dust exposure on her teammates.

Which was odd considering it was used in all of their weapons, and yet she was still convinced that it would have some sort of weird mutating effect on them if they didn't treat it right or take the right precautions. Ren had warned her it was because of her slight paranoia. Nora tended to get worked up over the littlest things. After all, she once thought there was a monster living in the closet trying to steal her pancakes. It took Ren forever to get her to stop barricading the closet door so that nothing could get out.

"Well, the rest should be apprecia-" Yang was suddenly cut off as her scroll started to ring.

She sighed as she picked it up.

"Yes?" She asked as she looked at the face of one of the informats at base.

"Miss Xiao Long, it seems that we have a lead on the white fang. The general figured it would be wise to tell you." She said as Yang raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, so why are you telling us?" She asked as the lady actually looked disturbed.

"Its...its hard to explain, the General asked me to have your team investigate it, as all the other patrols have been sent to wipe out Grimm in a different sector, the sight was caught by one of our surveillance planes." She said as the message was sent to every single Team members scrolls.

"Okay, looks pretty normal." She said as they didn't see the point. It was a base that was intact

"That was taken before we knew what it was three hours ago and this was taken just five minutes ago." She said as they suddenly saw a different image.

The base was completely destroyed, but once again, they couldn't see how this affected them.

"So what? You guys bombed the place?" She asked as the woman shook her head.

"No thats the thing, we didn't bomb it, no patrols went anywhere near it, and yet it was destroyed, Grimm don't cause fires, and the white fang obviously didn't do it to themselves, we worry there may be another force at play here." She said as Yang was starting to get it.

"So you worry that there are more than just the four military forces and white fang at play here? You think there is another group going around fighting the fang?" She asked as the woman nodded.

"Yes, we don't know if they are friends or enemies, so I would suggest approaching with extreme caution. Until you can confirm there are no people in the area, you may approach, see if you can get a look at the aresenal that was used in the siege." She said as she hung up the scroll.

"Well, you heard her, lets get going." Yang said as Ruby pouted.

"How come you're giving orders, I'm still the leader." She said with a look that instantly lightened the mood.

"Sorry Rubes..." She said with a sheepish smile.

"Alright everyone! Lets roll out!" She said as she stepped in a certain direction...and then stopped and turned around again.

"In that direction!" She said as everyone chuckled a bit at that.

Things may seem bleak lately, but it really was the little things in life that you had to enjoy.


	5. A New Enemy

**Okay, So I am hooked up on a lot of caffeine, apparently drinking a mountain dew, and then a bunch of Green tea gives you an energy rush, anyways here we go!**

 **Anyways, this chapter was a little weird since I was trying to put some plot development in, but not without trying to rush it, so it might seem a little slow at times, but faster at other times.**

 **Also someone messaged me asking to do a 'RWBY watches or reads Darth Arc.' And while I'm not opposed to the idea. If you are going to do it, please wait until this story is farther along.**

 **Besides, It would be weird to do considering it's after volume three, where some are dead. But hey, if you can make it work, than more power to you. Still though, seems a little soon to be thinking about that.**

 **Anywas here we go!**

* * *

 **WITH RY and NPR**

"Wow, this place really is trashed." Yang commented as they had spent the last fifteen minutes scouting the nearby perimeter looking for any signs of hostiles.

They didn't find anything, there seemed to be no activity coming from the base, and all that seemed to be there were the ruins. If anyone was here before, they were no longer here.

"Who could have done this?" Ruby asked as she surveryed the land, but couldn't find any evidence of tank treads or anything.

"Usually I would say the white fang, but they obviously wouldn't attack their own base." Pyrrha said as she too was finding this odd.

The place looked like it had been bombed, and yet there was not a single scrap of evidence that pointed to any use of heavy artillery or explosive devices.

"Well might as well get a closer." Nora said as the group ventured forward.

Pyrrha couldn't help but notice this annoying voice in the back of her head telling her to stay away. She figured it was nothing, but as she got closer and closer, she couldn't help but notice that feeling was not going away, in fact it was only coming back with even more intensity. What could be so bad about what was inside? With every step they took, Pyrrha noticed the others were slowing down a bit too, almost as if they all knew that they didn't want to see what had happened. But it was their job to investigate, and they were going to do their job.

"Weird...looks like the door hasn't taken much damage except for the obvious burning damage, if someone had used a battering ram or something to get in here, wouldn't it have left a mark? It's almost like the doors were open up for the attack." Ren said as he was getting a bad feeling about this.

"Oh my god." Ruby suddenly stopped and put a hand on her mouth, her silver eyes widening in horror.

"Ruby? Are you oka-" Yang suddenly saw what had made her sister stopped, and she took a step back out of fright.

"Mother of god." Pyrrha said as she know understood what that feeling in the back of her head was.

She was expecting there to be dead fang members, but never this many, and never in such a brutal fashion. A few corpses heads had been lopped off, add that on to the burning mangled skin that now spread across what was left of their faces, it didn't make for a pretty sight. Add that on to the fact that they all seemed to have the same look of fear and panic on their faces, it was almost as if they had all known there was nothing they could do to stop whatever killed them.

Looking around, it got even worse, bodies were torn apart piece by piece, some looked as if they were suffocating, probably from the smoke and fumes that came about when the base went ablaze. But she couldn't help but feel that it was something else. She saw another corpse that had its eyes closed, but both of its legs were broken, and it was missing both of its arms.

"Who...Who could have done this?" Ruby said as she could not believe what she was seeing.

It may have been their job to fight the white fang, but this, this was just brutal, who would ever commit such atrocities? To make matters worse, she knew that most of these people were probably burned alive, based on the fact that some of the wounds, while crippling, were non lethal, it was almost as if the people who did this wanted to show that they were an efficient killer, but also willing to let others suffer. But why?

"I don't know, it must have been one of those militia groups we have been hearing about." Pyrrha said as she looked over a burnt corpse.

Only for it to spring back to life.

"HOLY SHIT!" Yang said as she activated the weapon form of the golden fleece.

"WAIT!" Pyrrha said as the corpse had last onto her.

"I-Is he gone?" A woman's voice came from what could no longer be called a faunus.

"He? Who is he?" Pyrrha asked as she needed more information on the people who did this.

"The man who did t-this." The woman said as her breathing was very raspy and labored.

"What? You mean the people who did this right?" Pyrrha asked as the woman shook her head.

"No, it was just o-one m-man." The corpse said as she coughed a bit before here eyes started to go blurry.

"WAIT! Hold on, what can you tell us? We're here to help." Pyrrha said as the others looked at her like she was crazy, this woman was a white fang member!

Granted an almost dead one, but who knows what lies she could be spinning in her hour of dying?

"H-He came looking for our leader, we thought we could take him, but he, he didn't even hesitate, before I even knew it, he had already killed half of us, and left the rest of us to die, he...was a monster." The woman said as her eyes closed.

"Hold on! Don't go now!" Pyrrha said as the woman managed to say one last thing.

"Beware the black knight." She said as she took her last breath and finally died.

"Did, did you guys hear that?" Pyrrha said as the others nodded, although they were still too shocked.

"I don't believe it, one man managed to do this to all of them? Even for a huntsman or huntress that would still be a challenge." Ruby said, although it really depended on their skill level.

"I'm more concerned over who it could be." Yang said as she held her hand to her chin in thought.

"She called him a Black Knight, I guess the only thing we can gather from that was that he wore black armor, so that information is pretty much useless as that could be anyone." Pyrrha said as she stood up after closing the eyes of the corpse.

"Black Knight, sounds like a villain out of a fairy tale." Nora said trying to lighten the mood, although even she was freaking out about the turn of events.

"Thats because it is out of a fairy tale, although not a happy one." Ruby said as they all looked to her.

"Wait, really?" Yang asked as Ruby nodded.

"Well, Like I said, its not a happy tale, a knight shrouded in darkness comes riding into a town filled with sin, disgusted with the stains of both mankind and faunuskind, he goes on a killing spree, believing he will deliver the judgement of a vengeful god for the sins of mankind. To be honest, the story in itself was dark and I never finished it, all I knew was that I didn't want to know the end, as the whole basis of it was too dark for my tastes." Ruby said as Yang walked over to her.

"Well, then why did this faunus mention him?" Yang asked not understanding anything that had happened just now.

"Most likely she saw whoever did this, and she had heard the story when she was a kid, and for this Black Knight, he must have been the nightmare incarnate for her to actually believe in a ghost story." Ruby said as she looked around.

"I don't know about you, But I can't stand it in this place. I need to get out." She said as everyone nodded. They didn't like the sight of all the carnage either.

Pyrrha was still in deep thought as they left, was this man friend or foe? In all honesty, she was going with foe, because no one of any of the militias or armies would have been that brutal. It didn't even seem like a proper battle, instead it looked as if they had walked into a slaughterhouse. She cringed a bit at the poor analogy since they were all faunus, and she felt like that would be offensive to Velvet and Blake. But luckily she kept those thoughts to herself.

But the question still remained, who was this Black Knight? And how do they stop him? After all, if they were going to come up against him eventually, they would need to be able to beat him. And judging by the looks of things, he was not going to be a pushover.

* * *

 **VADER**

Vader was currently training against modified Atlesian knights. Yet another thing that had been stolen by Salem during the fall of beacon, after all not only did they make a great addition to their forces, but they also made great training bots. Easy to repair, and easy to program. Currently Vader was sparring against three in sword play. He did not like to rely on his semblance in battle, preferring close quarters combat to aura manipulation. Besides if he was ever to run into a huntress, he never wanted his skills with a blade to dull, so he trained constantly.

Course that didn't mean that he couldn't hear all that was going on around him.

"Well, this guys pretty good eh? Nowhere near my level though." A silver haired boy said as he was reading a comic.

"I don't see why Salem makes such a big deal out of him." Emerald said dismissing Vader as being nothing more than a brute.

"Heh, I imagine the boss kept him alive for her own amusement." Cinder said, even though she felt a little concerned.

She had seen what he did against his opponents, and frankly even though she would never admit it. Vader scared the hell out of her. Maybe it was because she knew who he used to be before he became this black armored powerhouse. But it was also the fact that she had been down here before, and had seen first hand what he did to his enemies. Salem had turned him into a murderer, but she never thought he would even kill those who should be considered his comrades.

"You realize its very rude to talk about someone behind their back." A deep voice said from behind Mercury and Emerald as they actually jumped a bit at the voice.

"What?! How?! When?!" Mercury said as he could have sworn Vader was down training just a few seconds ago.

"Perhaps your eyes are not as focused as they should be, perhaps you should spend more time focusing and less time reading those ridiculous stories." He said as he looked at the cover of the comic book.

X ray and Vav, he didn't know why, but he felt something for a moment, almost as if he had seen it before. But he soon shook his head from the thoughts. It was most likely nothing after all.

"As for you Emerald, I assure you, there is a good reason why Salem keeps me around. Unless of course you wish for me to demonstrate?" He said as Emerald actually felt nervous, so she shook her head.

"And Cinder..." He said as he stared at her with those black eyes.

"Perhaps I should show you the reason why she kept me alive." He said as his right hand was tapping the pommel on his blade.

Cinder couldn't let this masked freak talk down to her, so she activated her Aura slightly as her eyes started to glow rich with the fall maiden's power.

"Don't forget Vader, you may be her personal pet, but don't forget I house the Maiden's power." She said as Vader wasn't backing down.

"Perhaps, Just remember, I am not to be taken lightly." He said as he walked past her and out of the room. Finished with his training for the day.

"Okay, I'll admit it. That guys voice, it scares the hell out of me." Mercury said as he was still sure he could fight Vader, but damn he would be lying if he didn't have an intimidating voice.

"I don't like him, there's something off about him." Emerald said as that was putting it mildly.

"You two. Just remember this, I may be able to take him down easily, but you two are more closer in skill to him. So lets not go fighting each other yet. After all, we're all allies here." Cinder said as she thought back to Vader.

 _"Besides, Vader is loyal to Salem, the only way he would betray us would be by an act of god."_ She thought as she walked out to either get some food, or kill a Grimm. Whichever one came first.

Vader on the other hand was walking towards the Throne room, he had a feeling Salem was going to want to speak to him soon. And he can't imagine she would be in the best of moods. But then again, she was never in a good mood. Just a less angry mood. Either way, she was still his superior in terms of raw power, so he couldn't complain, even if he did find her voice to be grating on his ears sometimes.

Vader was walking past some of the lesser known grunts, who all gave the cyborg plenty of room, after all, they had learned the hard way that catching him while he was angry and getting in his way, just resulted in a very painful and sometimes deathly experience. The point is that they didn't want to piss him off. Especially since they were lowly grunts, Salem didn't care about them, it was only if Vader killed a high profile ally that she got mad. But the foot soldiers? They were just pawns in her large game of chess. Disposable soldiers meant to wear down her enemies, but to never really play an important part in her plan.

You let the pawns go first, and then you send in the knights. Catches the enemy off guard, and helps protect the king piece.

"Hey watch where you're going! Clumsy oaf!" A man said as Vader turned his head.

He narrowed his eyes at what he saw. A faunus named Obsidian Iris, a very cocky arrogant individual that should have been killed years ago. The only reason Salem kept him around was because he was a great smuggler and thief who was known for getting supplies to any of their allies who needed it (And No, hes not Han Solo).

"Terribly sorry sir." He heard a servants voice as he saw that there was a silver haired man with glasses on the ground.

Something about him was familar. Where had he seen him before? Normally Vader wouldn't care, but he had a personal grudge against Obsidian, so any chance to get back at him without angering Salem was a great chance indeed.

"Well well, couldn't find someone of your level to fight, so you resort to insulting the crippled servant. What a brave soul." He said as Obsidian felt a chill go down his spine.

"L-Lord Vader! What a pleasant surprise!" He said as Vader narrowed his eyes, no one was pleasantly surprised to meet him.

"Spare me the bullshit pleasantries Obsidian. You know I find you irritating." Vader said as he stepped forward.

"Well, uh, I was just, I have very important documents to deliver! Yes, to Cinder! Orders from the higher ups you know!" He said as he really did not want to piss off Vader.

Vader not be able to kill him, but he could certainly put him in a world of hurt, and no one wanted that.

"If thats the case, perhaps you shouldn't be wasting time demeaning slaves, and get back to work." He said as Obsidian's eyes widened.

"Yes! Of Course! I'll just get going!" He said as he picked up the rest of his documents and scurried off.

 _"Typical, he claims to have important documents, and yet he just dropped them on the ground."_ Vader said as he didn't understand the logic.

At the very least carry them in a brief case so they don't all scatter on the ground. Every idiot knew that.

"Thank you." The servant said as Vader looked back.

"I didn't do this for thanks Old Man, that was personal." Vader said as he started to walk away.

"Either way, Thank you for your help Lord Vader." The man said while standing up to continue with his work.

"Don't get used to it, I'm not here to make your life easier." He said as he walked out of the room.

He didn't know the smile the old man had on his face as he left.

 _"Who knows? Maybe there's still some of Jaune left in him, or maybe thats just wishful thinking, after all, I can understand why he would want to get back at that Obsidian fella, not exactly the most eloquent of people."_ Ozpin thought to himself as he carried on with his work.

Even though he was convinced Jaune had died the day Vader was born, he still hoped that he still had a shred of humanity in him.


	6. A Small Reunion

**Okay, So apparently I learned that singing Jimmy Buffet songs next to a bunch of people who are pissed off at the cold weather just seems to piss them off. Anyways, I've had my pint of Guinness. So time to get back to writing this.**

 **School is still going great, although people keep telling me I'm too relaxed about it, but come on, whats the point of stressing over it? If you stress, you don't think straight, and that leads to problems.**

 **Also some characters may seem a little different from their personality in the show, I don't plan on doing that often, but occasionally it might happen.**

* * *

 **TEAM RYNPR**

"So, that was a thing." Yang said as they had just gotten back from their mission.

Honestly they were still a little shaken up by the whole experience. They had learned about war in history being brutal. But to witness it for yourself, it was a whole new world. Ruby honestly felt like she lost some of her innocence when she saw the burnt bodies. Granted she was still bubbly for a girl who had gone through all the things she had, but she was starting to get the feel that the world could be a cruel dark place, and you had to really work to change things. So she made a promise to herself that she would do whatever she cold to stop any atrocities like what happened back there from happening ever again. Some would say that she shouldn't feel sympathy for the white fang members, and honestly she didn't. But when she saw that girl jolt back to life in front of Pyrrha. She couldn't help but feel pity for her.

Then there was the other thing, this Black Knight. Just who was he? And why did he kill all those people?

But the one thing that bothered her the most, he did not use any explosives as their investigation found out. Most of the wounds and surrounding damage was done with a plain old sword, not one enhanced by dust, just a very well forged sword. So she figured he would have had to have some training from either the military or from a huntress, after all, there was no way that a rogue white fang member could have been that skilled with a blade. And while that may seem far fetched, it was the only lead she really had, and even then it wasn't much.

The explosion and resulting fire were caused by this black knight overloading the power supply which was running on a dust reactor, which in turn caused an overload causing the explosion.

She had tried recovering security camera footage from the cameras they found around the base. But so far all she had gotten from them was static electricity and blurry images. So that was another dead end.

"That was one of the most disturbing things I have ever seen." The normally stoic Ren said as he took a bite of his hunk of meat loaf.

"Do we have to talk about this now?" Pyrrha asked as she was trying to focus on her food.

Honestly she still had the face of that faunus stuck in her head. And right now she just wanted to get rid of it. The sight of that mangled and charred face looking at her with eyes full of fear, not fear of death, but fear that the black knight had come back. It was a horrifying sight. Because everyone feared Death naturally, but to be afraid of the thing that would be the reason for your death was something she had never heard of.

After all, Death could come at any time and any place, it was unpredictable and you never knew when it would strike next. You could only hope to be able to cheat death when the time came around.

She had cheated death once, or more like someone had sacrificed themselves for her. And yet...at that moment she would not fear death because she would have glady traded places. Strange isn't it? You fear something and yet sometimes you wish you had experienced it. She shook her head of the thoughts as she took another bite of meat loaf. It wasn't the best she had ever had, but it was the tastiest thing she had eaten in a long time.

"So Yang, any leads on Blake?" Nora asked as Yang sighed and shake her head.

"Nope, not a single lead, I called Sun, he said he would keep his eyes out for her, apparently he has a few choice words for her as well." Yang said as she was glad she had friends all over the place.

Blake really did pride herself on Stealth. Hell she was so obsessed with it that it blended over with her other interests, if those Ninjas of Love books underneath her bed were any indication. Seriously who would have figured that the girl was a closet pervert?

"That girl can really avoid being found when she wants to be." They heard a voice say as they turned around.

"WEISS?!" Ruby yelled as she suddenly ran over and hug tackled Weiss.

"RUBY! GET OFF!" Weiss said as Ruby got up despite being happy to see you.

"But I haven't seen you since Beacon! What are you doing here?! I thought your dad was going to be keeping your prisoner in your own home." Ruby said as Weiss looked a little nervous.

"Uh...yeah, that was his plan." She said as Yang stood up and raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean that was his plan?" Pyrrha asked as she was wondering how Weiss had gotten here.

"I, uh, may have bribed a guard to bring me here, As of right now I'm rogue from my own home." She said as Yang walked over.

"You mean to tell me, you disobeyed your father, sneaked out of the house, and came all this way to see us?" She said as Weiss looked a little nervous.

"I missed you guys." She said as an uncomfortable silence rang out.

"I, AM SO PROUD OF YOU!" She said as she hugged Weiss.

"OUCH! YANG! YANG! STRONG METAL ARM! STRONG METAL ARM!" Weiss yelled out as Yang dropped her.

"Woops! Sorry, I forget how strong this arm is at times." She said as she closed her fist and opened it again.

"So what are you doing here? I doubt you snuck out just to say Hi." Pyrrha said as she couldn't believe Weiss would do that.

"I came to help, I heard you were going after the Fang as well as the woman who killed Jaune." She said as the atmosphere got a little gloomier.

"Yeah, we are." Pyrrha said as Weiss looked down a bit.

"Look, I know I didn't have the best relationship with him at first, but he was my friend too. Please, I want to help you guys." She said as she looked down.

"Hey, You're still a part of Team RWBY, we'll take any and all help. Now come on, lets take a seat, we need to catch up." Ruby said as they all walked over to the table.

 _"Man, Dad and Winter are going to be pissed."_ Weiss said as she had only left a note.

"Wait! How did you find us? This is supposed to be a secret base! Right?" Ruby said as everyone else looked confused.

"You guys realize who you're talking to right? My family has connections." Weiss said as everyone took that at face value.

That and her family was the main suppliers to the resistance, so it would be ridiculous for them not to know the location of every base that was under their control.

* * *

 **VADER**

Vader was meditating in his quarters. It was the only way he could get some peace of mind these days. With all the chaos erupting all around them, his assignments, training, and dealing with some of the imbeciles in this place. It was only a matter of time before he snapped and killed whichever idiot was stupid enough to get in his way. But meditation, it helped him control his anger. So he didn't use it as often on his allies, but instead used it on his enemies.

Still though, his thoughts had been the same as usual, nothing extraordinary. Its not like he had much to think about. Once again, it was all eat, sleep, and kill. And those first two didn't come very often. Sleeping was hard to do with his mask, and he often had to be put under a sedative in order to get some sleep, and even then it wasn't very healthy. And eating, well, lets just say it was not an enjoyable experience, due to the rebreather he had to use, he had to use a feeding tube. He didn't even get to enjoy any of his meals, although considering whatever they were feeding him was something meant to give you every single nutrient and vitamin you would need in a day, he was sure it would taste like shit.

As he was meditating, he felt something different. Usually his thoughts were uninterrupted, and nothing ever came of them. But tonight, he could feel a difference, he heard something, it was sound, but the sound of what? What was going on?

 _"J...Pl...Do...l...Me."_ He heard something in the distance.

What was that? And why was it showing up? And why did it sound so familar? Vader opened his eyes. It was nothing, probably just his mind playing a trick on him. He stood up and grabbed his sword off of the wall and placed it on his belt.

He looked at himself in the mirror, often he had wondered what was behind this mask. He couldn't remember what he looked like before this, but from what Salem had told him, he was horribly scarred. So he had no desire to take the mask off. He felt like all it would do was piss him off. Besides, he's not even sure if he would see the man in the mirror as being him, given that as far as he knew, this mask was his real face. How would you be able to deal with seeing a face in the mirror and not knowing who it was?

But at the same time, wouldn't that same curiosity make you want to take the mask off to see who you were underneath?

Once again he shook his head of the thoughts and walked out of the room, no need to dwell on the past when you couldn't even remember it.

"Well look who is up and about?" He turned to see Cinder looking at him with a smirk.

"Is there a reason you're here?" Vader asked wondering why she was waiting outside of his door.

"Honestly I just happened to be walking to my quarters for rest, as I imagine you should be doing right now." She said with a smirk.

"You know I don't sleep much, I think you just came by here to annoy me." He stated as she just looked at her nails in response.

"Oh? Would I do that?" She asked as he glared at her from under his helmet.

"Of course you would, you know as well as I do that Salem thinks highly of you, more so than me, we also know that if we were to fight, and I was to somehow beat you, that would land me in trouble with her. And you know this, that is why you take the chance to antagonize me every chance you get." He said as she just chuckled.

"Very perceptive aren't you?" She said as Vader had hit it right on the head.

"But remember this, if a day ever comes where she no longer needs you, I will gladly take your life." He warned her as she just continued to smirk.

"You would try." She said as Vader walked away.

She was quite proud of herself, it was good to be such a major asset to the big picture. Mostly because she got to torture Vader, who most people were too afraid of to speak ill about. Hell, even Emerald and Mercury had been quiet ever since he had confronted them. She on the other hand did not have to worry about it. Was she scared of him? Yes she was, but did that mean she wouldn't harass him every chance she got, well then that was another yes.

Yes, she was afraid, but she was also powerful and higher up than him. Right now she was just kicking the dog.

However, theres only so much a dog will take, before it bites back.

 _"Lord Vader, report to my quarters immediately."_ A voice rang in Vader's ears as he nodded.

"Yes Mistress." He said as he made his way to his destination.

Once again he was passing the servants, or as he called them, the prisoners of war. Some of them had been former professors at Beacon, some of them had been spectators at the Vytal festival, some had been Atlas Soldiers, and some had just been unlucky to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Either way, they were good for servants work and not much else. Although they figured the soldiers would be a problem along with the professors, add the correct persuasion, and you will find that they are much easier to control. With the right incentive, you could have had them jumping out of hoops.

"Oof." He heard a voice say as he looked down at his feet.

A small red hair blue eye child was staring up at him with fear. She had seen Vader walking around, and she like many others were afraid of him.

"What do you think you're doing?" He said more irritated than anything.

"I, uh, I, I was." The little girl tried to mumble out.

"Get up and get out of my way." He said as the redhead child immediately hopped out of the way and got back to work.

"Victoria! Be more careful! Do you have any idea how badly that could have ended?!" A woman in similar appearance to the child said as the child nodded her head.

"Yes Mommy, its just that, he was so scary." The child said as their mother nodded.

"Yes, you're not the only one who has thought that." She said as they continued their work.

Finally Vader arrived at Salem's quarters. She was standing by a window as he walked in.

"What do you wish of me?" He asked not willing to waste time.

"Another mission for you, this one will be a little simple. Just taking out some militia members." She said as Vader growled.

"Milita? I would have thought my skills would be of better use against armies." He said as she nodded.

"Yes they would, but don't worry, I bet you will find these militia to be tougher than you think." She said as she threw him a data pad.

"And what is this?" He asked as she smirked.

"Intel gathered on their camp, I bet you will find their cargo interesting." She said as Vader clicked the button.

Sure enough, the Militia while small, did have two Atlesian Paladins that they had stolen from the Atlas Army during the Beacon crisis.

"Well, this should be an interesting test." He said as he walked out of the door.


	7. Confrontation (This Chapter is Rushed)

**Okay, So I'm writing this to help me calm down. Mostly because I am just pissed off at recent events, so this might seem a bit choppy in sections.**

 **Once again, I really suck at writing action scenes, so sorry for the short and suckish scenes. I will try and get better at this. But as of right now, its a bit rushed.**

* * *

 **TEAM RYWNPR**

"Rubes, why did you have to sign us up for this mission? Come on, I was enjoying our small amount of free time." Yang said as she had been woken up from her nap for this.

She knew the whole situation was serious, and the higher ups wouldn't have asked them to partake if it wasn't important. But for hell's sake, everyone needed some time to unwind. And Yang's way of unwinding was either with a good fist fight or a nap, whichever one came first. Nora had been in the same boat as they had found her sleeping on Ren's bed, although he claimed nothing had happened and that he was sleeping on the floor, the look on his face said otherwise. Weiss was overall the most accepting, as she had been used to getting her free time interrupted back in Atlas.

"Hey, with all the huntsman stretched as thin with this war going on, we have to pick up any slack there may be." Ruby said as she had also been napping, but she had an unusual talent for waking herself up when she needed to.

"Besides, it should be a simple routine mission." Pyrrha said as she had looked over the details.

It was just a simple supplies check mission, check with the local militia and make sure they were better prepared for whatever enemy they would face. While it was tedious, it was also necessary and actually a relief that it wasn't to fight off another horde of Grimm. Because that got tiring quickly, especially with the all nighters and weeks they had been doing by fighting those things.

"Still though, these guys don't seem to be all mentally balanced, why are we helping them again?" Yang said as she crossed her arms beneath her chest.

"Hey, they may not be the wisest out there, but they're good at what they do, call them crazy, but when it comes to fighting white fang, they do their fair share." This was surprising because the one who said that was Weiss.

"And here I thought you would be calling them *Ahem* Filthy scoundrels! How dare they try and play soldier?! Besides aren't these the same guys who stole Atlas equipment during the breach? Why are we going to help them?" Yang said imitating Weiss as she got an irritated look on her face.

"Hey! Hard times can turn even the most incompetent people to fighters! And lets face it, we need all the help we can get." She said as Yang raised an eyebrow.

"You realize you didn't deny anything I said right?" She said as Weiss blushed.

"Shut up." That was the end of their conversation.

Soon enough, they arrived at the militia camp. Overall they were dressed rather odd, their camo was outdated, their weapons while effective were not the best they could possibly be, probably due to them not knowing how to properly maintain them. And above all, their hygiene was pitiful, one of the guys practically had a patch of mold growing in his beard, or was that a birds nest? Weiss couldn't tell, all she knew was that she wanted to stay away from Bird beard.

"So as you can see, we're still fine on supplies." The Militia leader stated as he didn't understand why they had to send Huntresses and a Huntsman.

He honestly felt like they were overrated and no good in a fight, as evidenced by how they couldn't even defend their own city or academy from the Grimm Invasion. So needless to say he had been rather rude to the team ever since they had gotten there.

"But we haven't even looked around yet." Ruby said as the leader glared at him.

"And you won't. I don't trust a bunch of kids to go through my shit and tell me how to do my job." He said as he lit a cigar.

"Oh I'm sorry, I would have thought considering that we are the ones who supply you that we would want to see our assests being put to good use." Weiss said as the man glared at her.

"I guarantee you, your supplies are in better hands then they were in yours." He said as Yang cracked her knuckles.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" She said as Ruby held her back.

"Easy Yang! We're not here to fight!" She said as the militia leader was reaching for his boot knife.

"What I mean is that I don't trust a bunch of overpaid hired guns that think they're gods gift to mankind." He said as Yang was getting more and more pissed off.

"And what does that make you? A bunch of wannabes with no training whatsoever who managed to hold off a few hordes, oh yes you must be so strong." Yang said as suddenly Weiss got irritated.

She then proceeded to slap both of them upside the head.

"Okay both of you idiots, we don't have time for this stupid petty squabble! So both of you better put the dicks back in the cage and work together!" She said as her entire team looked at her in shock.

"Wow...Weiss...I have never heard you talk like that." Yang said as Weiss was covering her mouth.

 _"I can't even believe I just said that."_ She said as she was even surprised she could talk like that.

She could go on rants and insult people, but she had never used such crude language before.

"Hey! I'll escort you guys around!" A random grunt said as he was pulling Yang away from his CO.

"Yeah! I agree! Lets go!" Ruby said as she also helped pull Yang away from the CO.

"Sorry about that, Captain Custer can be, well, theres no other way to put it, hes a dick." The grunt said as soon as they were out of ear shot.

"It's okay, I'm just glad we got away before Yang smashed his head in." Weiss said as Yang was still mumbling under her breath.

"Considering I saw her eyes flash red, I imagine it would not have turned out well for him." He said as Nora spoke up.

"So what's your name?" She asked as the man's eyes lit up.

"Oh me? I'm Jack, Jack Midnight." He said as she nodded.

"Nice to meet you, so what do you do around here?" She asked as he looked down at the ground.

"Mostly, I cook and clean out the latrines." He said as Weiss looked disgusted at that.

"Damn, that sucks." Yang said as she felt sympathy for him.

"Yeah, anyways, what did you guys need to see?" He asked trying to get on their good side.

"Just a basic inventory check, weapons, food supplies, the works." Ruby said as he nodded.

"Well, I guess I can do that, everyone else is out hunting." He said as he took them on a tour.

They passed by the tents, or what passed for tents, seemed like they just took a few old tarps and pitched them up, they still had food as they were mostly self sufficient in the way that they hunted for their food, their weapons while old and not as advanced as latest atlas technology was still good enough for what they needed to do, which was taking care of smaller Grimm and hunting down small groups of rebels. However when they got to the Atlesian Paladins, they noticed something was wrong.

"Why is there only one here? Reports said you guys have two?" Ruby said as she was going over the details in her scroll.

"We do, but they occassionally take it hunting with them." Jack said as Weiss raised an eyebrow.

"I thought the point of hunting was to keep silent and stealthy while you hunted for food?" She said as he nodded.

"Well yeah it is, but mostly he trails behind and looks for any approaching Grimm...Unless of course Jim is piloting it...in that case he tries to use Deer as target practice." He said as they all looked down in disgust.

Hunting for food was one thing, but killing for pleasure? That was just wrong. Unlike Grimm, as far as they knew, all living creatures had a soul, the reason why they could kill Grimm with on remorse was because they knew they weren't killing a living being, but rather a creature of darkness.

"Strange, its just, wouldn't we be hearing them in the distance? They couldn't have gone that far." Yang said as Jack looked around.

"Come to think of it, they were supposed to be back about ten minutes ago." He said as he looked down at his watch.

"That is odd. Hey wait is that a limited edition Captain Atlas wristwatch?!" Ruby said as Jack smiled.

"Yep! Waited for hours in line at the comic book store to get it!" He said as Ruby looked over it.

"Aw Man! When I tried to find one, they were all sold out, or nobody would sell me theres." She said as Jack smiled.

"You like it, I got two." He said as he held out another one.

For the first time in a long time, Ruby had stars in her eyes as she took it from him.

"THANKYOU!THANKYOU!THANKYOU!" She said as she put it on her wrist.

"Well, this is an interesting Development. We come here on a mission, and Ruby makes a new friend." Weiss said as even she had to resist the urge to smile at how adorable Ruby seemed.

"Yeah, besides they work pretty good out here, not to mention...what the heck is that noise?" He said as he looked off in the distance as he heard the sound of creaking metal.

"Maybe its them coming back?" Pyrrha said as she was starting to get a bad feeling.

"Did they break the Mech suit?" He said as he had never heard a sound like that before.

"I don't know, but-" Nora started to say as they suddenly looked up in the sky.

And their eyes widened as they saw a large metal ball about to fall right on them.

"MOVE!" Pyrrha yelled out as everyone got out of dodge, with Ruby grabbing Jack and moving out of the way.

"What the hell was that?!" He said as the ball landed and made a small impact crater.

As they took a closer look, they realized it wasn't a metal ball, but actually a crumpled up Atlesian Paladin, if the empty driver seat covered in blood as anything to go by.

"What could have done-" Pyrrha was cut off as they heard multiple screams coming from the forest.

"We got company." Ruby said as she prepared her scythe.

 **(PLAY THE IMPERIAL MARCH)**

Because out of the woods, came a single lone black armored figure.

* * *

 **VADER**

Vader was angry, not because he had been hurt, no far from it, their bullets didn't even pierce his armor as he was protected by a thick black suit of knights armor that seemed to stop everything but a tank round. He wasn't angry because of the annoying people he had to deal with back home. He was angry because these so called Militia men were absolutely appalling as Soldiers!

Idiots! Taking a highly advanced piece of military equipment and using it to hunt, if you could call that hunting! Literally the man piloting the damn suit had wasted so much ammunition by shooting at deer and random trees. How that man could be seen as competent in the militia was beyond Vader's understanding. All he knew was that he was pissed off.

"FALL BACK!" A milita member shouted as Vader stabbed his blade into his spine and ripped it out through the side of his back. Even if the man somehow managed to survive, he would never walk again.

"This is what I was sent here to do? Kill sheep?" He thought as the Mech suit took aim at him.

"Don't make me put some pain on you chump! If you move, I will kill you!" The pilot said as he aimed his cannons at Vader.

"If." Vader replied as he held out his hand.

"What are you-" Suddenly the pilot felt very compressed.

"Wh-What are you doing to me?!" He said as he felt the spaces closing in.

"Just making an adjustment." He said as he closed his hand even more.

Screams of pain echoed from the machine as the pilot felt himself being crushed by whatever power this man was using. The walls were closing in, he could feel his body slowly being compressed, so he wouldn't die fast, he would be slowly crushed to death. The pressure was building up, he could feel multiple bones cracking as he couldn't stop the screams of pain, all he could do was scream louder, a sickening crunch came from his ribs as he felt a piercing feeling in his chest.

A punctured lung, this only made things worse, he coughed up blood as he found himself short of breath, everytime he tried to breath, the only thing he could do was cough up more blood.

"How pathetic, I came here for a fight, and this suit can't even handle the smallest amount of my power." The Black Knight said as he completely closed his hand into a fist.

The result was the man inside being reduced to a pile of goo. With only fragments of bone being left behind. Everything else was liquidated.

Vader than threw the offending former Paladin away from him.

Just as he was about to turn around and leave. He stopped, he looked back as he heard voices coming from the other direction, but there was more to it than that, he...felt something, something familair. He didn't know why, but he got the feeling that there were still more enemies to deal with. Knowing that his Mistress would be displeased if he let any of the Militia members survive, he walked forward.

"I wonder, what could be lying further to the North?" He said as he walked forward at a brisk pace.

As he got closer and closer, he heard voices, but they didn't sound like soldiers, if anything they sounded like teenage girls? But why? What would they be doing here? At first he thought he was just imagining things, but as he got closer and closer, he only heard the voices getting louder, and they sounded more and more like they were younger females the closer he got. Was this militia so desperate that they were recruiting mere children to fight?

Then again, he didn't even know how old he was, so for all he knew he could be the same age.

"We got company." He heard a girls voice say as he came out of the woods.

Sure enough, there was a group of seven people, one of them seemed to be a member of the Militia based on his uniform, but the other six, they were something different, their weapons, their clothing, they weren't milita, they were Huntresses!

He saw the looks on their faces, from what he could tell, the main emotion was fear. Fear of the unknown, they didn't know who he was, all they knew was that he was an enemy.

One seemed to be a fifteen year old girl who was dressed like a Gothic Doll, and yet she was wielding a scythe/sniper rifle, even he was impressed at the strength it must have took to wield that. Another was a white haired girl with a Multi Action dust rapier, he had seen pictures of this girl before, the Schnee Heiress, Weiss. How odd to see her here. Then there was a blonde hair girl with a metallic arm who seemed to have some sort of strange gauntlet like weapon.

It was the other team that seemed to make something go off in his mind. A boy in a green outfit with dual kusarigma pistols, a girl with orange hair and a giant hammer. But it was the final one that caught his attention. He didn't know why, but she seemed familiar in some way. But he couldn't figure out why she seemed familiar to him.

She was a redheaded woman who was dressed in an ornate yet functional set of armor. Her weapons consisted of a sword and shield, and yet the sword looked like it could do much more. But it was no matter, he still had work to do.

"Stay back!" The militia man yelled as he raised his rifle and fired.

However, Vader merely took the bullets head on, after all, those bullets only ricocheted off his armor, add that on to the fact they were coming from a regular rifle, he could barely even feel the impact safe in his armor.

"Jack! Thats not working!" Ruby said as she charged forward.

Vader raised an eyebrow at her speed, she was certainly fast. But he brought his sword up to block her strike, and he actually found himself straining to hold her back.

"Impressive." He said as he punched her in the gut and then threw her back.

"RUBY!" Yang said as she charged forward with her arm cocked back.

A brawler it would seem, Vader waited for her to get close, obviously she would try to trick him into thinking she was charging in for a punch, but he could sense that was not the case. As soon as she got closer, she changed directions and attempted to attack him from the side. She kept moving around trying to catch him off guard, however he was no fool, he knew that she was trying to duck and weave, distract him enough to get in a lucky hit. Finally he caught her metal arm as he looked her in the eyes.

"Too predictable." He said as he threw her towards the second Paladin.

"WEISS!" Ruby said as Weiss nodded and Vader saw her preparing an attack.

"Don't think that will work." He said as he already knew what was going to happen.

Suddenly Weiss was confused as her rapier was no longer in her hand, but rather in Vaders.

"Do you really think those little dust tricks will work on me?" He said as he threw her weapon to the side.

Course, to his surprise, he saw the weapon start to float in mid air. And suddenly it was back in the Schnee's hand.

Suddenly he looked back and saw the redhead charge at him. But she was different. Instead of going for an all out assault like her teammates, she had spent the time examining him. But before Vader could think any further, he had to bring his sword up to block a strike from her.

Once again, he felt himself straining against her, but this time she had blocked any further strikes using her shield.

"Most impressive." He said as she glared at him.

"I get better!" She said as she went for a shield bash.

Vader merely ducked under it and went for a side slash trying to catch her off guard, but that didn't work, she used her sword to divert the blow and then spin around to do another slash. But she clearly underestimated him, as he quickly blocked her strike. He smirked under his mask, this woman had been putting up more of a challenge then the others, and she was definitely stronger than the idiot in the mech suit.

"Don't count us out!" He heard an energetic voice say as he turned an saw the orange haired girl holding a grenade launcher.

For a second he felt fear as he saw a grenade being launched towards him. Thinking quickly, he jumped back away from the redhead and used his semblance to divert the grenade to launch not back at her, but the rest of her group.

"What the-" She screamed out as she saw the grenade impact Weiss, Ruby, and Yang.

"Guys!" She said as she glared at Vader.

"Oh I'm mad now!" She said as she shifted her weapon into hammer form.

"Nora! Ren!" Pyrrha said as Nora looked over at her.

"Make it rain!" She said as Nora nodded.

"You know, you suck at naming movements even worse than Jaune." She said as she propelled forward at vader.

"A straight attack? Obviously you don't think before you attack." He said as he was prepared for her.

Only for her to do something completely different. Instead of attacking him head on, she shifted her weapon back into its grenade launcher form and took a knee.

"Eat this!" She yelled as she fired another grenade at him. Only this one wasn't like the other.

When Vader tried to divert it again, it detonated prematurely covering the area in a thick smoky haze.

"Ah, trying to take away my sight, so you do learn." He said as he turned his head.

Suddenly he felt something impact his helmet from above. He gave a slight grunt in pain, while his armor was tough, certain areas could still feel the force of some attacks. Then he felt multiple impacts, it must have been the green one with the machine pistol weapons. Once again, the plan was ineffective but only because his armor was too strong for the ammunition he was using.

Suddenly he sensed something else, and he turned around quick to block another strike from the redhead girl.

"Now isn't that foolish? Running into a smoke screen while your teammate fires?" He said as she glared at him.

"Who says I'm really here?" She said as she suddenly disappeared.

"What?!" He said as he looked around.

What was going on? How did that happen?! Suddenly he heard a noise. He turned his head up, and he saw the second paladin about to land on top of his head. He held out his hand to catch it, only to be caught underneath it.

As the smoke cleared, you could see the group while slightly injured, was not as badly injured as they thought. Weiss only had an injured pride at being disarmed so easily, and a few slight burns from Nora's grenade being diverted at them. Ruby had a slight concussion along with some minor burns, as well as a sore stomach from the punch. Yang's mechanical arm was a little out of sorts, but other than a cut on her head, she was fine.

The least injured were Nora, Ren, and Pyrrha, who stuck to strategy when they realized this man they were fighting could easily counter brute force.

"Everyone alright?!" Jack said as he had called in a bullhead.

"Yeah we're fine.." Pyrrha said as they walked towards him.

"What the hell was that?!" He said as Ruby and her group walked over to them.

"I have a pretty good idea." Pyrrha said as she saw the bullhead coming in.

"Well, we need to get out of here, there may be more of them out there!" Jack said as the others nodded.

Their mission had failed, the milita had been destroyed, one of the paladins was completely crushed, and the other one was currently the grave marker of the black figure. Their commanding officers were going to be pissed. As they were getting on the bullhead, they saw Jack's eyes widen as he took a step back.

"Uh guys, you might want to take a look." He said as he pointed behind them.

Pyrrha took a look, and her eyes widened, she saw that the Paladin was being lifted from the ground. And beneath it, the black figure remained unharmed, and despite the fact they couldn't see his face, she could see the pure anger in his eyes.

"If that doesn't kill him, what will?!" Jack said as the bullhead took off.

They would have stayed behind to fight, but Jack told the pilot to take off, and by the time they started to make a move, they were already gone.

On the ground, Vader watched them fly away, but why? He could easily catch them? He could easily force them to land. And Yet...he let them go? Why? Why did he choose to let the people he was trying to kill go? He had not spared any of the other militia members, what was so special about them?

 _"J...p..."_ He turned around at the sudden noise.

"Those voices again." He said as he looked around.

"Must be the adrenaline." He said as he walked off.

"Mistress will not be pleased." He said as he got out his own scroll.

"This is Vader, I require a transport."


	8. The Guilt

**Okay, So once again writing this because my stomach is killing me due to eating too many buffalo wings. So back to the gym tomorrow to help work off this stuff. Even though its my cheat meal day. I still feel like crap for eating all that.**

 **Also gotten really into The Flash on the CW, I like it even better than Arrow.**

 **Anyways here we go, a new Chapter.**

* * *

 **VADER**

"Lord Vader, how did your mission go?" Salem said as Vader knelt before her.

"I'm afraid I failed." He said as she raised an eyebrow.

"Failed? How is that possible?! It was just a small militia!" She said not believing that Vader could be beaten so easily.

"No, the Militia is gone, and the two paladins are destroyed." He said as she looked confused.

"Then what makes this mission a failure?" She asked as she walked over to him.

"There was a team of Huntresses at the camp, I failed to dispatch them." He said she raised an eyebrow.

"And how did that come to be?" She asked as she had a feeling she already knew the answer.

"There...was something about them, something familiar." He said in a quieter voice but Salem could hear him just fine.

"It was most likely nothing, possibly old enemies I suppose?" She said as Vader seemed to accept that.

"If they were old enemies, than why did I hesitate?" He asked as Salem cursed at her slip of the tongue.

"Fear maybe? Could you describe them?" She said as Vader stood up.

"One male, five females. Each between the age of 15 to 17." He said as Salem sighed.

It must have been the teams that Cinder had described to her. The ones that Vader knew before he became her loyal servant. This could prove problematic, after all, if he started to remember, he could become rebellious. And she would have to make sure to put that rebellion down before he got any other ideas. Then again, she could use this to her advantage.

"Ah yes, but surely they shouldn't have been too much of a problem? What made you hesitate so?" She asked as Vader looked out the window of her lair.

"There was this woman, a red haired woman, with a sword and a shield. I found myself impressed by her skill, but yet, I find that there was something about her that made me think about my past, whatever that is." He said as she turned to Salem.

 _"I see, maybe I can work this to my advantage, after all, he doesn't even remember me torturing him. I can definitely use this."_ She said as she walked up to him.

"Ah yes, her name is Pyrrha Nikos." She said as Vader swore he felt like the name was familiar.

"Did I know her?" He asked as Salem shook her head.

"No you didn't." She said as Vader looked away.

"She may seem familiar because we have been trying to capture her." Salem said as she wasn't actually lying.

She was trying to capture Pyrrha, in fact Cinder was meant to have transported her to her lair at the end of their fight so that she could mold Pyrrha into the perfect weapon. And obviously that plan failed, but she ended up with an even better consolation prize. But yet, that Nikos girl still managed to be a pain in the ass. Her and her friends could prove to be a force to be reckoned with if they were not dealt with.

"Trying?" He asked as she nodded.

"You were impressed by her skill, and you barely got a taste of it, imagine what she could do if your fight went on even longer." She said as Vader made a motion that showed he was interested.

"Even if we were to capture her, I doubt she would turn on her friends that easily." He said as Salem smirked.

"Oh Lord Vader, you still have much to learn, you have seen what I can do, did it never occur to you that I could be very persuasive with the mind?" She asked as he just stared straight ahead.

"I suppose it is possible, so what are we to do now?" He asked as she was thinking about the situation.

"Well, obviously you are interested in fighting her again, so continue your training, and then, I will send you after her." She said as Vader nodded.

"I see, and I would assume you want her alive?" He asked as she nodded.

"Of course, just imagine Lord Vader, a warrior of that potential working for us, our goals would come to fruition even faster with that sort of power on our side." She said as Vader nodded his head again.

"And just what is that plan? You never told me." He said as she wiggled her finger.

"That Vader is for me to know, besides I have something for you." She said as she opened the doors to an elevator.

"Come with me, I have something to show you." She said as she stepped into the elevator followed by Vader.

The ride down was silent, Salem felt no need to talk and Vader was left to his own thoughts. All he could think about was the woman in red, despite that he had been told the truth about her, he couldn't help but feel that there was more to it than that, but even then, why would his Mistress lie to him? What did she gain from it? Absolutely nothing, besides, considering she could kill him easily, there would be no point in lying to him. It wasn't like he could fight against her even if he got angry at her lying to him.

And yet the nagging feeling in the back of his head would not go away. He had a feeling there was more to the situation than what he was being told. Finally the elevator came to a halt and Salem stepped out.

"We've had them specifically bred for you." She said as Vader looked confused, well at least he looked confused under his mask.

"Bred?" He said as she opened the door to a room.

"You know about our partnership with the White Fang?" She said as he nodded.

"Of course, you sent me on that mission to remind them not to take us lightly." He said as she nodded.

"Well, what I forgot to mention was that occasionally they like to execute anyone they accuse of being an informant for the authorities or anyone who goes turncoat, but I figured we would have a use for them as our soldiers." She said as she led him into the room.

"I fail to see how traitors would fight for us." He said as she flipped a light switch.

"Well, you find that once you take away the very essence of their soul, they become quite obedient." She said as she pointed to a whole platoon of soldiers.

Vader surveyed them, they were dressed in the standard white fang armor with a few modifications here and there, such as the armor covering their shoulders and removing the symbol of the fang from their clothing, but it was the helmets that stuck out the most. While there was definately inspiration from his own helmet, he could see that they were modified to specifically fit the former faunus terrorists. The mouth piece on the helmet was shaped like a a row of razor sharp teeth as well as the eyes being narrowed down into slants making it look as if they were rabid creatures on the hunt.

(Think of the Stormtrooper helmet, combined with Ichigo's hollow mask)

"You see Vader, with the right persuasion, you can turn the most rabid dog into the most obedient soldier." She said as Vader scoffed.

"I have killed plenty of their so called soldiers before, what makes these troops so different?" He asked as she smirked.

"Well, for one they have had advanced training in hand to hand combat, marksmanship, demolition, stealth, information gathering, and have been mentally modified to obey only our commands." She said as Vader looked at her.

"Even if I believed you, how is that possible?" He said as she motioned for him to give a command.

"Go ahead, give them any command, and they will obey." She said as Vader pointed to one.

"You." He said as the faunus stepped forward.

"Sir!"

"Take your weapon, and shoot yourself in the head." He said as the Soldier nodded and reached for his rifle.

"Affirmative." He said as he pointed the rifle upward...and fired.

His lifeless body fell to the ground, with blood pouring out of the wound and onto the floor. The other soldiers not so much as even blinking at the death of their ally.

"Impressive." Vader said as he turned to Salem.

"What do you think?" She said as Vader turned back to them.

"I'll form my opinion when I see them in action. What do you call them?" He asked as she held a hand to her chin.

"I've named them the Queen's hounds, as they are my personal fighting force and hunting dogs." She said as Vader nodded.

"Very well, follow me, we have training to do." He said as they all fell in formation behind him.

* * *

 **BACK AT THE RESISTANCE BASE**

"You say you encountered a man in black armor?" Ironwood said as he looked at the team in front of him.

"Yes sir, he decimated the militia, and he also destroyed the two Paladins." Jack said as he was reporting in. Technically Pyrrha had thrown the other paladin at him, but it was probably as good as toast by now.

"I see, did you see his face?" He asked as they all shook their heads.

"No, he, he was wearing some sort of black helmet, making a bunch of heavy breathing noises, I don't know, all I know is that he managed to fight off some of the huntresses with ease." He said as Yang grumbled at that.

"I underestimated him, I won't do that again." She said as Ruby nodded along.

"Yet another new enemy." Ironwood said as he pulled out his whiskey flask.

"Isn't a little early to start drinking sir?" Jack said as Ironwood shook his head.

"Honestly, with all thats going on, its never too early to start drinking." He said as he took a quick gulp of whiskey.

"Sir, I was hoping I could join the Atlas military." Jack said as Ironwood nodded.

"Sure, we'll take all the help we can get, but you will have to go through a basic training course, as I don't imagine the militia gave you the proper training." He said as Jack nodded.

"Unfortunately, the Militia was led by our glory hound of a Commander, Custer." He said as he spat out the name.

Jack had never liked Custer, the man was too full of himself for his own good. Thought he could take on the Atlesian army and win, course Custer had been killed by the Black Knight with everyone else.

"Anything else you can tell me about this dark figure?" Ironwood said as Ruby scratched her head.

"He seemed to be able to move things with his mind, and that he seemed well trained to block Pyrrhas attacks." She said as he nodded.

"Very well then, off you go, I have to have a talk with Mr. Midnight here about his training." He said as they all nodded and left the room.

"Do you guys think that was the Black Knight that the white fang grunt was talking about?" Nora asked as Pyrrha nodded.

"Most likely, we hear about a powerful figure attacking a white fang base, and then we meet a very similar figure attacking a militia group? Its no coincidence." She said as Ruby nodded.

"There was...something about him, I don't know why, but it was almost like he was a Grimm, he was just radiating negative feelings." She said as Pyrrha nodded.

"Tell me about it, when I fought him, I just felt nothing but anger and rage." She said as she didn't mention something.

She had felt anger and rage, but yet she also felt like there was something familiar about him. His stance, the way he wielded that sword. Something about it was familiar. But she couldn't put her finger on it. She shook her head of it, she was certain that she would have known if she had fought a scary black knight in the past. And she had remembered every opponent she had ever faced, whether it was in the tournaments she was a part of, or in the spars at Beacon academy, she never forgot a face.

Course, she couldn't see him underneath all that armor. Maybe she had met him before.

"Pyrrha." Ren said as Nora was close behind.

"Yeah?" She asked as he tilted his head toward a different room.

"Could we talk to you?" He said as she nodded.

They went into a different room and sealed the door.

"You felt it too right?" Nora asked as Pyrrha looked confused.

"Felt what?" She asked as Ren spoke up.

"The hate, the anger, the pain, and most of all, the overwhelming sense of familarity." He said as Pyrrha nodded.

"I did, but how could we possibly know him?" She asked as Ren sighed.

"I don't know, do you remember all the guys you fought during the fall of beacon?" He asked as she nodded.

"None like him, what about you Nora?" He asked as Nora shook her head.

"All I know is that I felt like a part of me was dying when he looked at me." She said as she had remembered the look in the Black Knights eyes, or at least what passed for eyes behind that mask.

"Whoever he is, he must be working with...her." Ren said as Pyrrha felt anger.

The 'Her' that Ren was referring to was the woman she had fought on the top of the tower the night Beacon fell, the woman who had killed Jaune.

"Are you sure? Why would Cinder attack the white fang?" She asked as Ren sighed.

"Possibly a display of power? I don't know, but I'm certain he works for her, the last time I felt something like that, was the night Jaune was killed." Ren said as Nora looked a bit depressed at the memory being brought up.

"You know, I thought that after all this time, it would be enough to forget...but..." Nora said as Pyrrha finished her sentence.

"No matter how hard you try, its like it was just yesterday that he was here with us smiling and laughing." She said as she felt her heart ache.

"Remember the time when Jaune got up early to make us chocolate chip pancakes?" She said as Pyrrha laughed a little at that.

"You would remember the time with the pancakes, but yeah I remember, he made smiley faces out of the chocolate chips." She said as she smiled warmly at the memories.

"He even made mine with dark chocolate because he remembered that I told him I preferred those to milk chocolate." Ren said as even he missed that time.

"..." Pyrrha looked down in silence.

"Pyrrha?" Nora said as she put a hand on her shoulder.

"Its just, I miss him Nora, I really miss him." She said as she felt tears coming on again.

"We miss him too Pyr, we miss him too." Nora said as Ren came up and they both hugged Pyrrha.

"I can't stop thinking about one of the last things he ever said to me, telling me that he couldn't live with himself if he let me die. And yet, sometimes it feels like I died with him." She said as Ren rubbed her back.

"You loved him, and in the end, he loved you." Ren said as that was the one thing he was certain.

"Its just...I never knew it was going to be this hard." She said as Nora felt a tear going down her cheek.

"Neither did I, I thought we would all be together forever, and then all this happened, everything changed so quickly, but, just because things changed, we shouldn't stop fighting, Jaune died because of this war, and to honor his memory, we should fight to end this war, so no one has to go through what we did." She said as Ren looked at her.

"That was surprisingly insightful of you Nora." He said as she smiled at him.

"Well, lets just say someone gave me some good advice once." She said as she winked at him.

"Should I give you two some alone time?" She said as Ren and Nora choked on air.

"PYRRHA!" Nora said as Pyrrha laughed a little bit.

"Sorry, figured it would lighten the mood." She said as Nora gave a small giggle.

"It did, but, Ren and I aren't that far yet." She said as Ren nodded quickly.

"Well, we better get going, Ruby and the others should be waiting for us, and I don't know about you, but I'm hungry." She said as her two teammates nodded.

 _"Wherever you are Jaune, I hope you're happy."_ Pyrrha thought, not knowing how much Jaune was suffering.

* * *

 **UNKNOWN LOCATION**

A figure masked in shadows was currently looking at her scroll, it had a map diagram on it that had taken months out of her life to find. She was convinced she had finally found the place she was looking for. The base of the group who had destroyed Beacon, and had killed her friend.

She scratched her cat ears under her bow. Blake had been busy these last few months, after she ran from her friends, she was committed to hunting down any white fang bases and giving their location to the army, or taking them out herself. She had her fair share of successes and failures. But she didn't let that deter her. She was working to make the world a safer place, and to be honest, she was also doing this to redeem herself.

When she found out that Jaune had died, she had blamed herself. The white fang had been working with the woman in red. And the invasion led to him getting an arrow in the chest. Since then, she couldn't face her friends, especially team NPR without being reminded of the guilt. So she was trying to get rid of it by getting rid of as many white fang members as she could.

But there was something new, The Black Knight. The one who she heard had destroyed an entire base of White Fang by himself, as well as attacking her former team mates. She had eyes and ears everywhere, so she heard everything that was going on. After she heard about his attack on the white fang, she had originally considered him an ally, but after the attack on the militia, she knew he was anything but an ally. So she had to take him down.

As it turns out, based on the map she had received from a soldier turned traitor, she had finally gotten the map to what she assumed to be his base. And she knew he wasn't just working alone, but he was working with the woman who had killed Jaune. So this was a chance to deal a blow to both of them.

"Maybe, after this, I can finally go home." She said as she continued to walk to her destination.

Only time would tell.


	9. A Plan

**So I try to update as soon as I possibly can, mostly because unlike with some of my other stories, I actually know how I want to continue this one, so here I am. Granted I know I have been updating frequently, but keep in mind, I might start to slow it down the further I get along, depending on how busy I get with my personal life.**

* * *

 **BACK AT BASE**

"Spaghetti and meatballs MRE, yeah I doubt thats what its going to taste like." Ruby said as she took a bite out of hers.

"I got Beef stew, tastes more like shredded beef paste." Yang said as the taste was a little weird.

"I don't even know what this is." Nora said as all she knew was that it wasn't pancakes.

"I think mine is still alive." Pyrrha said as she could have sworn she saw something moving.

It was one of those days. They hadn't been called in for a mission, there was no sign of Grimm Activity, and the only food they had was a bunch of MRE's. They all suddenly had a huge amount of respect for the military for having to eat the stuff that they had to force themselves to keep down. Ren suddenly stopped chewing, he had gotten the tuna fish salad MRE.

"I think theres an eyeball in this." He said to himself, and sure enough, he spit out a fish eye ball.

"Ewwwwww..." Nora said as that was a little disturbing.

"How the hell do they eat these things?" Weiss said as she saw a soldier walking past.

"Strong stomach and discipline Miss Schnee." The Atlas soldier said as he walked right by her.

"Why don't we just hunt for our food? We obviously have the skills for it?" Yang asked as the others shrugged.

"Probably because most of us are too loud to stay quiet enough to stalk a deer." Ren said as stoically as possible.

"Excuse me? But the General wanted to see you in the briefing room." A young man said as he rushed into the room.

"If it gets us away from this stuff, I'll take on any mission he throws at us." Yang said as she and the others left their MRE's on the table.

As they were walking through the hall, Team NPR was thinking back to the Black knight. Whoever he was, he had felt familar to them, after Pyrrha had gathered what was left of her team and told her that she felt something off about him when they fought, Nora and Ren added in their two cents, especially since they saw him fight, and it was almost like he could predict her moves. Which was the result of two things, either he had fought her before and knew how she moved, or the more likely explanation was he was so well trained that he could predict what his opponent was going to do.

And while they had a feeling it was the second option, they still had this nagging feeling in the back of their mind that they had met him somewhere before, Pyrrha more than the others. She had no idea who he was, but she was determined to find out. Yang had her own mission to find Blake, now it was Pyrrha's mission to find the Black Knight. And maybe he could lead her to Cinder, and finally take that bitch out.

"General?" Ruby said as she walked into the room.

"Ah yes, we have a mission for you." He said as he held out an envelope.

"Whats this?" She asked as Ironwood looked away.

"Open it." He said as Ruby took a small knife and opened it.

The contents were a bunch of pictures, but not just any pictures, they were pictures of a woman, and that woman was Blake. Yang had instantly snatched the photos out of Ruby's hands as she looked them over, having not seen her partner in awhile, she was at least glad that she looked healthy, if not a little scared.

"When were these taken?" She asked as Ironwood pulled out his flask.

"Last week in a town called Riverdell." He said as the pictures got passed around.

"Why would Blake go there? It's full of criminals and mercenaries." Weiss said as she knew Blake was not one to want to get mixed up with another white fang type of group.

"Most likely following a tip, look at this one." Ironwood said as she handed them another.

This one was different, it was Blake handing over a small wad of Lien over to a man wearing a black suit.

"This man has been an informant of ours for years, helping us find any white fang cells or any other terrorist group, your friend probably sought him out for the same reason." Ironwood said as he scratched an itch on his head.

"I get that Blake wants to hurt the fang, but why go through all this trouble? Everyone is gunning for the white fang these days, its not like you have to look hard to find people trying to find and kill them." Yang said as the whole situation didn't make sense.

"Unless...she's not only after the white fang." Pyrrha said as the others turned to her.

"What do you mean?" Weiss asked unsure as to what her friend was implying.

"Blake was Jaune's friend too right?" Pyrrha asked as that name brought a sad look to everyone's face.

"Yes, ever since he gave her that big tuna." Weiss said remembering how it had been Blake's birthday and Jaune had went down to the local fish market and had bought the biggest, tastiest tuna they had on display.

"And she was obviously as distraught as we were over his death right?" Pyrrha asked as they were starting to see where she was going with this.

"Are you suggesting that Blake is going after Cinder?" Weiss asked as Pyrrha nodded.

"Why not?" She asked as the others looked down.

While they weren't sure about Pyrrha's theory, the fact that they had all wanted to track Cinder down for a long time did help them understand what Blake might be thinking. They knew she also had a problem with the one pissed off bull horned guy who had caught Yang's arm off, but considering Yang still was among the living and Jaune wasn't. She must have felt guilt over his death as well.

"I don't know, seems a little far fetched." Ironwood said as he wasn't sure about this whole thing.

"So what do you want us to do?" Nora asked as Ironwood turned to a display screen.

"Follow her steps, she's still a valuable asset and whatever information she knows could help us in the long run." He said as they nodded.

"Anything else?" Ruby asked as he shook his head.

"Just try not to draw attention to yourselves, this may require stealth, as we can't risk the enemy knowing what we are trying to do." He said as Ruby nodded.

"Well, you heard him guys, lets get going!" She said as the others nodded.

* * *

 **VADER**

Well, Vader had to admit, he was rather impressed with the Queen's hounds. Not only were they much stronger than the regular White Fang foot soldiers. But they had also proven to be much smarter. They tended to think out their plans before they acted out, unlike the White Fang which seemed to utilize strength in numbers rather than tactics. They were also incredibly loyal to him and him alone excluding Salem of course. But they would not even obey Cinder, in a way this was a victory for Vader over that Amber eyed bitch.

The two once again were not on the best of relations, and Vader was waiting for the day that she died in combat, or the day that he killed her, whichever one came first. Luckily her two lap dogs had gotten the message to leave him alone. After of course he had choked the silver haired one with his mind for being too loud after he was recovering from a battle gone wrong.

"Lord Vader, The Queen wishes to see you." Commander Wolfe said as Vader nodded.

"Thank you Commander, procede downstairs and show the grunts who the real soldiers are." Vader said as Wolfe nodded.

Commander Wolfe was his most loyal soldier, and in some cases, he could even be considered Vader's friends, while they had all been brainwashed, that did not mean Cinder had stripped them of everything that made them Faunus, they still had their basic instincts and could hold a conversation, its just that Salem wanted killers, so she had made them. Either way, Wolfe had proven to be useful during Vader's last few missions, and had even proven to b a very useful sparring partner, as Wolfe's personal weapons were two fighting knives, making him fast and deadly.

Vader's skills had only continued to grow in the time he had been training, his swordsmanship was getting better with every minute, he was able to control larger objects with his semblance, and he had even had some modifications to his cybernetic limbs in order to make him stronger and faster. The punctured lung was something they couldn't fix, so the raspy breathing sounds he made was not getting fixed anytime soon. But even after awhile, he even ceased to hear that annoying sound. Funny how the sound of life could drive someone so mad.

"You wanted to see me?" He asked as she nodded.

"Yes, you remember that conversation we had?" She asked as he looked at her.

"You will have to be more specific, We have had many conversations." He said as she nodded.

"The one regarding the Nikos girl." She said as Vader's face under his mask reacted in recognition of the name.

"The girl who we were trying to turn?" He asked as she nodded.

"Yes, I think its time we get back to that mission." She said as Vader tilted his head.

"And how do you propose we do that?" He asked as she walked over to him.

"You said you were able to match her in single combat?" She said as Vader nodded.

"Yes, but I would not call that an accurate demonstration of her skills." He said as she waved it off.

"One thing I know about her is that she takes all of her battle seriously, if you were able to stand up for her, I would say you are ready for her capture." She said as Vader looked away.

"And what about her team? Would they not be a problem?" He asked trying to get an accurate reading.

"They would be, but I imagine our hounds would be a match for them, No?" She said as Vader nodded.

"Do I have a time limit on this?" He asked as she shook her head.

"No, but the sooner the better." She said as Vader nodded.

"And what makes you think I can bring her in?" He asked as she walked over and picked up a photograph.

"This." She said as she handed him the photo.

"Who is this?" He asked looking at the picture of a blond boy with blue eyes.

"That is Jaune Arc, her former team mate." She said as Vader felt something familiar.

He felt like he had seen this boy before...but where?

"And what part does he play?" Vader asked wondering why she was showing him this picture.

"None, he died in the invasion, but say we were to persuade her that her teammate was still alive." She said as Vader shook his head.

"That won't work, if she thinks of him as dead now, it won't do her any good to think he is anything other than dead." He said as she held up a finger.

"Except for this." She said as she had him look towards a video.

It was of an unconscious Jaune Arc, and while he looked dead, he was still breathing.

"You mean to tell me...he is alive?" Vader asked as he didn't find the situation likely.

"No, he's dead, this is from his capture, before he later died from wounds sustained." She said as Vader looked over to her.

"I get it, you want me to lure her in by saying I can give her her teammate and friend back, you are asking me to use him as bait." He said as she nodded.

"Exactly, any woman in her state of mind is obviously distraught over losing such a close friend, so say you were to confront her at her weakest moment, and show her this footage, she would do anything to get him back. Say, trading herself over for him?" She said as Vader gave the plan a thought.

"And what if she is to find out the truth?" He asked as Salem chuckled.

"Oh trust me, she won't. Not in time at least, besides we have you and Cinder, I am sure the two of you could keep her subdued." That was all Vader needed to hear.

"Very well, I will carry out this mission." He said as he bowed his head.

 _"Lord Vader! There's been a security breach!"_ Commander Wolfe said as Vader turned the communicator in his helmet on.

"I presume this is a serious matter and not just a fluke?" He said as Commander Wolfe was having trouble talking over the gunshots.

 _"We have the intruder on the run, she's heading towards your area now! We need you to cut her off!"_ He said as Vader nodded.

"Duty calls." He said as Salem nodded.

"Of Course, go on." She said as he left the room.

"Well, he didn't even recognize his own face, I guess any trace of Jaune Arc really is dead, so nothing to worry about...its all coming together." She said as this was almost too easy.


	10. Cat and Mouse

**Okay, so here I am writing another chapter, I have tomorrow, and then another week of school before my spring break, and while I would spend most of it writing, St Paddy's is also coming up, so I'll probably be at the bar on that day. So I'm going to get some of my writing done before that comes around.**

 **Anyways once again, people have been messaging me asking to do a RWBY watches Darth Arc, which I am okay with, but wait til I get at least fifteen chapters in. Especially since the chapters are pretty short.**

 **But just inform me if one is published, because even I would be interested in that.**

* * *

 **VADER**

Sure enough, this intruder was surprisingly evasive. When the hounds think they had caught her, she had managed to elude them, and the hounds were not easily fooled, so that showed she was a skilled infiltrator. Which means she had most likely been on missions like this before, which means that she had to have had some professional training, in other words, she must be working for the Atlesian military, or any of the four kingdoms.

Vader had been looking over a schematic for the base, he knew there were no easy exits, in fact the whole place was designed to keep intruders in if they ever tried to escape. If there ever was a spy and they were caught, alarms would immediately go off to signal the exits to close, in other words, once the last exits were closed, it turned into a game of cat and mouse.

 _"Lord Vader! We're forcing her to turn in your direction! What do you wish us to do?!"_ Commander Wolfe howled out over the com link.

"I will deal with this intruder personally." Vader said as he got his sword off, the lighting in the room giving the red blade an almost glowing look.

 _"Are you sure?"_ He said as Vader grunted in response.

"It's just one spy. I believe I can handle it myself." Vader said as the com line went silent.

 _"It will be done my lord."_ Wolfe said as Vader stood in the shadows waiting for the intruder.

Vader sat there and waited, he had patience for this. After all, this could only end one way, and that was with the capture of the spy. It was impossible for her to escape, and in fact it was very foolish for her to even try to infiltrate this base in the first place. What madness drove her to act in such a way?

And more importantly, how had she learned the location so easily? Was there a spy in their ranks? Vader shook his head, no one would be so stupid as to sell information to the enemy, they would be immediately put to the chopping block. Suddenly Vader's thoughts were filled with the sound of running. She was getting closer and closer. Sure enough, she soon appeared around the corner, and into the large room he was waiting in.

She thought she had found a way out, only for the door to close behind her. Then she realized she had hit a dead end.

"Oh no." She said as she looked around clutching the data pad.

"I'm afraid your journey ends here." He said as she turned and saw him in the shadows.

"You're him...aren't you?" She said as she took a step back.

"And who do you think I am?" He said as he stepped forward, his blade even seemed to glow brighter as he came out of the shadows.

"The Black Knight, also known as Vader." She said as she drew her weapon.

"Indeed I am." He said as she got a good look at him.

"And yet I am at a disadvantage, I have no idea who you are." He said as she narrowed her eyes.

"Belladonna." She sad as he stopped a few feet from her.

"No first name?" He asked as she pointed her blade at him.

"Look who's talking, the man with only a last name." She said as Vader scoffed.

"I don't have time for your smart remarks." He said as as he went for a downward slash.

She retaliated by going for an overhead block. And that was when the duel began, Blake knew that this man was practically a living tank, so she was trying to use her semblance and agility to her advantage. When vader slashed, she dodged and went for a strike. But that proved to be much more difficult than she had imagined. Vader was well trained, he could see that she was trying to parry and counter attack, so he prepared himself by utilizing footwork in order to compensate for his massive frame.

"You'll have to do better than that Ms. Belladonna." He said as she glared.

"I'm full of surprises!" She said as Vader cut her head off.

Or so he thought, suddenly he saw her disappear.

"WHAT?!" He yelled as he sensed something coming from behind.

He turned around to narrowly avoid a stab from a pissed off Cat faunus.

"Thats the second time that trick has been used against me, I'm not falling for it again." He said as Blake scowled.

She than turned using the sheath of Gambol shroud as a club while she flipped around and tried to drive the tip of the sword into Vader's eye lens. Unfortunately he saw that coming and titled his ever so slightly and grabbed the blade and used the momentum of her own attack against her, as he threw her to the other side of the room. Vader was disappointed, he had expected her to be slightly better.

"Come now, don't tell me that is all you got." He said as he walked forward.

Blake had a sudden realization that this wasn't just some lucky dumb muscle, this man obviously was smart, he could see through her plans and counter her just as easily, and unfortunately she had not had the most practice in combat due to being on the run trying to gather information.

"I'm not done yet!" She said as she transformed her weapon into its gun form.

Vader grunted, these huntresses and their transforming weapons, why not stick with a weapon that was one thing and one thing only, he believed in sticking with the classics.

 _"Not everyone appreciates the classics these days."_ He turned around at the sudden voice. What the heck was that?

Blake saw that he was distracted and used that to open fire. Vader while distracted by the voice, was not distracted enough that he couldn't hear the gunfire. He turned around and held up his left hand in order to stop her attack.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" She said as she was shocked.

This man, was taking full on dust ammunition with only his hand, if anything that should have destroyed or mangled him, and yet not even the glove seemed to be taking any damage. What she didn't realize was that her attacks were not making impact and that he was merely putting up a telekinetic wall that caused them to explode in a way that made it look like they were making contact with the glove.

It offered a distraction and also played a psychological trick on his opponent by making them think he was indestructible. Despite most of his armor being tough and able to stand up to bullets, the areas around his arms and his hands which much more vulnerable as he never saw the point in having too much armor in those areas since he could easily block attacks with his metallic arms. However maintenance on them was a pain, so he preferred to avoid taking damage if he could. And even if he did take damage, he could defiantly dish out more punishment than his opponent.

"I grow tired of this." He said as all of a sudden he heard a noise.

The next thing he knew was that a shock net had enveloped around Belladonna. The impulse being enough to make her let go of her weapon and cause her to fall to the ground in exhaustion. Vader grunted as his distraction had worked, while she had been focusing on his seemingly indestructible arm. he had sent out a signal to his hounds on the other side of the door to let one soldier in and hide away until such time as he could effectively capture her.

As it turns out, that plan went off without a hitch.

"Sir! Intruder captured!" Sergeant Fox said as he walked up to him.

"Something isn't right." Vader said as he thought to himself.

While he didn't expect this to be difficult, he honestly did not think she would have been taken out that easily. Surely she would have had fast enough reflexes to at least try to dodge the net, but she had just stood there. Was it possible that she had simply been exhausted from the run? Did she really find him that terrifying that she couldn't tear her thoughts away from him? None of these situation seemed viable, and he felt like he was missing something.

"Hold on." He said as he went over and kicked the woman, only for it to crumble into dust.

"No...No...NO!" He yelled as he looked around.

"IMPOSSIBLE! HOW DID SHE ESCAPE?!" Vader said as the walls around him were creaking, his telekinesis spreading out causing some pillars to be crushed.

Meanwhile, Blake was currently running for her life, she knew that what she did was risky, and that escaping from this place was nearly impossible. But luckily her semblance was good for running away. While she had neglected her combat training over the past few months, she had gotten even better with her semblance. Able to make two different copies of herself, the biggest difference being that she could force her copy to move, but only for about five minutes tops. In other words, if that Soldier hadn't chosen the right time to strike, she would have been captured for real.

After they thought she had been captured, she had stuck to the shadows and ran off. She had about a thirty second gap to escape. And she was going to take it.

She had to get out of here with the data she collected, it could change the tide of the war.

* * *

 **LATER WITH TEAM RWYNPR**

"Do you really think this could be it?" Weiss asked Yang as they were packing their stuff.

"It certainly looked like Blake." Yang said as Ruby came over.

"Yeah, but Riverdell? Didn't Weiss once called that place a 'Hive of scum and villany'?" Ruby asked as Weiss rolled her eyes.

"I'll have you know, that was my old mentor Ben who told me that, and for the most part he was right based on what I have heard." She said as NPR came over.

"Still though, what could she possibly find there? I get that she's trying to gather information, but can you really trust a bunch of swindlers to do the job for you?" Ren asked as he wasn't sure about this mission.

"Hey, she probably dealt with these guys before when she was in the White Fang, chances are if you pay them enough, they will tell the truth." Yang said as they loaded into the bullhead.

"I'm just saying, this whole thing smells suspicious." Ren asked as he couldn't help but feel paranoid about this whole thing.

He used to live in Riverdell before he met Nora when they were kids. It was a shit hole. Literally the ass end of the world. It used to be a nice place until the great war happened, then the whole place had been ransacked, and nobody bothered to repair it, as a result it was mostly taken over by vagabonds and rebuilt. But for the past hundred years, it had not been getting any better, it had only gotten worse. But one thing was for sure, if you needed a dirty job to be taken care of, there were no better hoodlums to do it then the River folk.

"Suspicious or not, we got to try and find her, this is the first lead we've had in months, and if anyone gets in our way, we'll punch our way out." Yang said as Ren walked over to him.

"By the way, you may want to keep that arm of yours covered, I guarantee you someone is going to want to sell that for a nice price." Ren said as Yang nodded.

"Way ahead of you." She said as she pulled out a long black glove that went up to elbow, the rest of the arm being covered by her jacket.

"I think all of us should be careful, you never know what can happen in the shadows." He said as they took off.

* * *

 **BACK WITH VADER**

"AAAGGGGHHHH!" He screamed out as he felt a crushing pain on his other lung.

"How could you be so stupid?!" Salem yelled as her eyes were alit with fire.

He had seen her this angry before, but this had been the first time in a long time.

"She was more clever than I thought." He said as he merely got another sword strike to his shoulder.

"She played you like a fiddle! And more than that, she escaped! I don't know how! But she managed to escape this base! NO ONE ESCAPES THIS BASE!" She yelled as she threw Vader across the room.

"I WANT HER FOUND!" She said as Vader stood up weakly.

"It will be done..." He said as he staggered out.

"Vader, I am warning you, do not fail me again, you know what I am capable of." She warned with a deadly tone.

"Of course Mistress." He said as he walked out of the room.

 _"Status report: Armor in need of repair, slightly damaged lung, slight concussion, bleeding shoulder, suggestions: immediate bed rest."_ A voice said in his helmet as Vader walked to his chambers.

That had gone better than he expected. At least this time she didn't use her full power and had practically given him a slap on the wrist. Cinder never had to go through this as she was too valuable and could not be damaged in any way. Vader on the other hand was expendable.

As he entered his room, he looked over at his computer monitor, which was just a Holgraphic display of the status of his armor. His earlier battle coming back to mind. More specifically the voices he had heard.

 _"Not everyone appreciates the classics these days."_

 _"Look who's talking, the man with only a last name."_

Those two voices came back to taunt him, the second one he knew was Belladonna, but the first one, he had no idea, why had it suddenly appeared, and who was it? Was it an old memory? Vader shook his head from the thoughts.

 _"Status report, Darth 501 armor in need of repair, Remain still."_ A robotic voice said as he felt multiple machines grab him.

In the very unlikely situation his armor was damaged, he had these machines to help repair it. He had only had to use it twice, and both times were because of Salem.

"Darth..." He said to himself thinking over the name of his armor.

"Darth...Vader..." He said testing the name out, he found that he liked it.

Well, he now had his first name, little did he know just how much people would grow to fear the name...Darth Vader.


	11. Look What The Cat Dragged In

**Okay, so apparently while my story is updating, for some reason it is not showing up as recently updated, so that is kind of a pain, but meh, I guess the site will fix that problem someday.**

 **I do not own Star wars or RWBY, anyways, I'm writing this before I head to the local bar. So lets see how it goes.**

* * *

 **VADER**

"FALL BA-" A man's voice was cut off as he felt a blade go through the side of his face. Causing the rest of his head to fall out at the hinge of the jaw.

"Pathetic." Vader said as he continued to walk forward.

"Don't come any closer freak!" A group of Atlas soldiers said as they all pointed their weapons at him.

"Oh? And who is going to stop me?" Vader asked in a sarcastic tone.

"Don't get cocky freak! There's fifty of us and only one of you!" A quivering soldier said although he was honestly scared of the man in front of him.

"Even if there was only one of me, you lot would not be a challenge." He said as the soldier's eyes widened.

"W-What do you mean?" He said as Vader raised his hand.

"Wolfe, finish them off." He said as he gave the signal to attack.

Suddenly out of the foilage, they heard the sound of gunshots, the soldier dropped to the ground as he felt three bullets grind through his leg, knee, and ribs. After he fell to the ground he could see just what was happening. Out of the trees came white armored men, fighting with stolen Atlas weaponry, at first he thought a single squad could not do enough damage, but as he looked around, he saw that there was much more than that. They were completely surrounded by these men, all the while there was a raging thunder storm going on overhead, almost being a symbol of their ferocity.

Finally he saw that one of his old friends tried to charge one of them. Thinking that they would not be as effective at hand to hand combat, he was sure his friend could take one of them out. However that soon changed when he saw one of them throw a punch that not only broke through his buddies armor, but also through his chest and out of his back. A bloody hand holding his still beating heart showed that these men were not to be trifled with.

"W-What the hell are you?" He heard his friend say as the White solider said he pushed the body off of his arm.

"I am like you, just a Soldier following orders." He said as he got back to firing on his other squad mates.

How? How was this happening, things had been going so well, they were delivering a shipment of supplies from an Atlesian outpost to be taken to a separate base so they could continue to operate in that region. But it all changed when as they were walking, he heard the screams of the officers of the company, that was when the man in the black armor had appeared, he had been fast, having silenced his CO's before they even had a chance to scream. Only the last one remaining had tried to tell them to run, but if there was one thing about an Atlas Soldier is that they would never leave a man behind.

But now, he was starting to wish he had run.

Because everyone was gone, there was nothing but bodies all around. He turned to his right, he saw his buddy Light, he had just gotten married recently, asked him to be his best man. He felt a tear go down his eye as his friend hadn't been married for more than a week, and now his wife and son were never going to see him again. He turned to his left, and he saw Simmons, to be honest, he never liked that guy because he was a kiss ass, but kiss ass or not, the man was still a hard man to kill, and to think they had just walked into this ambush.

"Why?" He asked as the man in black armor came up to him.

"Why what?" He asked even though he already knew the answer.

"Why do this? What's the point of it all?!" He yelled as the man just pointed his sword at his neck.

"Simple, you had something we needed, so we took it." He said as the unknown soldier looked up at him.

"Thats it?! All of this just to attack a supply run?! You killed my friends for nothing!" He said as the dark figure in front of him made a 'tsk tsk' sound.

"No, not for nothing, think of this as their sacrifice bringing order to the new world." He said as the soldier glared at him.

"What New World?" He asked as he suddenly felt a pain in his neck.

"I'm afraid you won't be around to see it." Vader said as he slashed the man's throat.

"Lord Vader, supplies are intact, and we have a bullhead on the way." Commander Wolfe said as Vader looked to the sky.

"Good, perhaps this will get Salem off of our backs for awhile." Vader stated, he may be loyal to his boss, but after his recent failure with Belladonna, she had been lashing out.

"Do you really think its wise to say it like that Sir?" Wolfe said as Vader shook his head.

"No, but she's not here right now is she?" He asked as his friend shook his head.

"I guess not, I would still be careful, you never know who might be listening." Wolfe said as Vader turned to him.

"You're too paranoid Commander." He said as another Queen's hound came up to him.

"Sir! We found this among the tech!" He said as he handed Vader a scroll.

"Yes, its a scroll, why do you show me this?" He asked as the Hound clicked a button.

"Look at what it contains." He said as a holographic display came up.

"..." Vader was silent as he looked at the display.

"Interesting." Wolfe said as he looked at it.

"So Atlas has plans for a new weapon." He said as he scrolled over the details.

"AT TE? What kind of name is that?" Private Ape said as he walked up.

"All Terrain Tactical Enforcer, I imagine this would be very useful to us. Obviously this isn't the only set of plans Atlas has, it would be wise to build up our own." Vader said as the bullhead arrived.

"Something tells me the Boss is going to be in a good mood when we get back Darth." Wolfe said as they all got on.

"I would assume so." Vader said as they took off.

* * *

 **RWYNPR**

"You weren't kidding, this town really does suck." Yang said as they were walking through it.

As soon as they landed a few miles outside of the city, they had to walk the distance dressed in very raggedy clothing so as to avoid suspicion. However they still looked like kings compared to some of the people, people were starving in the streets, covered in what seemed to be clothes that had been patched up using pieces of garbage bags. There were some kids running around pick pocketing the adults, all and all it was a shit hole.

"I don't joke, besides, there's a reason I was reluctant to come back here." Ren said as he looked at some of the familiar sights.

"How did you get out of here?" Yang asked as Nora stepped forward.

"I helped him get out, I had gotten lost one time, and I ended up here, I found Ren begging for food, so I gave him some of the food I had in my napsack, after some guy tried to mug me, Ren stabbed him in the leg, and we ran until we couldn't run anymore. Luckily we were found by a group of traveling merchants who brought us to Vale. And I think you can guess how things have been since then." Nora said looking slightly somber.

"Dang, I never would have guessed." Yang said not believing the cheery girl had done that.

"Ren doesn't like me to mention it, but considering where we are..." She said as Ren waved it off.

"I get it, its alright Nora." He said as she smiled.

"So where is this place we're supposed to find?" Weiss said as Yang looked at a photograph.

"According to this, its this bar called 'The slippery nipple.' Okay seriously thats just weird, who names a bar that?" Yang said as Ruby spoke up.

"I think thats because its a drink." She said as Yang looked at her sister.

"Okay how the hell do you know that?" She said as Ruby deadpanned.

"You realize who our Uncle is right?" She said as Yang just made an 'oh' face and looked back to the street.

"You mean the drunk perverted Uncle?" Weiss said as Ruby and Yang nodded.

"That's the one." They said as this conversation was just getting awkward.

Granted this was still tame when it came to conversations about their Uncle, God knows they remember what happened when Ruby was a baby and he ended up passing out in Ruby's play pen. He woke up to see that Ruby had crawled on his head and vomited in his hair. In fact they still had the picture of that somewhere lying around. Although they swore they would never show anyone that picture.

"Well, I think this is it." Yang said as she took a good long look at 'The Slippery Nipple'. Which is still a shitty name for a drink.

"Uhm, Am I the only one who really doesn't want to go in there?" Ruby asked as everyone else shook their heads.

"No, we don't want to be anywhere near this place, but remember, we're looking for Blake." Yang said as they all nodded.

"Why did she have to choose this place to come to? Why couldn't it have been one of the larger towns?" Weiss said as they walked in.

Only to be immediately pushed out of the way as they saw a very angry large burly man carrying a man by the waist of his pants and the hem of his shirt. He then proceeded to throw the man about ten feet and into a dumpster.

"AND STAY OUT!" He said as he turned to see the wide eyed looks of the group in front of him.

"Sorry about that, guy was getting ready to start a drunken brawl." The man said as he walked back inside.

"..." They were still silent as they heard a groan coming from the dumpster.

"Wasn't that?" Weiss said as Yang nodded.

"The guy in the pictures, the man in the black suit." She said as Ruby face palmed.

"You got to be kidding me, the informant is a tavern owner, thats not cliche at all." Ruby said as Yang looked over.

"I think you have been reading too many books Rubes." Yang said, although she had gotten information out of junior, and he was a club owner.

As they walked in, the smell of booze filled their nostrils, once again like Uncle Qrow at any family gathering. Everyone was either too busy fighting, sleeping, or passing out drunk on the table to care that newcomers had arrived. The whole place was a mess, while the nightclubs in vale looked more futuristic, this looked like something out of an RPG, there was a candlelit chandelier hanging above a fireplace, with a person singing in the corner.

(Think of the Whiterun Tavern in Skyrim)

"Well, it has a nice rustic feel to it at least." Weiss said as she tried not to throw up at the guy passed out drunk in his own sick.

"Look, lets just go to this guy and see what we can find out." Yang said as they hurried over to the bar.

"We don't serve minors here, so unless you want a room, I can't help you." The bartender/owner said as he served another pint of ale to a customer who looked like he had enough.

"Don't you think he's had enough to drink?" Pyrrha asked as he sighed.

"Its not my responsibility to tell them what they can't do, if they pay, they get a drink, one thing about this town lassy, there's no law, so there's no reason I should have to worry about his health, if he dies from drinking too much or on his way home, its not my business, he should have been smart enough to know not to drink so much." He said as Yang stood up to him.

"Do you recognize the woman in this photo?" She asked as she handed him the picture.

She saw his eyes widen in recognition before he reached his hand underneath the bar.

"I may have, whats it to you?" He said as he was gripping a six shooter under the bar.

"We're her friends, she ran off not too long ago, and this is the first lead we've had her in months." Ruby said as the owner looked at her.

As paranoid as he was, he doubted a little girl such as the black and red haired one would be hunting down Blake.

"Yeah, she rented out a room here not too long ago, I've also been passing some information onto her." He said as he didn't take his grip on the gun, just in case.

"Do you remember when she was here last?" Yang asked as he nodded.

"Yeah, she just came in an hour ago." He said as their eyes widened.

"Can you, show us to her room?" Yang asked excited to finally see a chance to talk to Blake.

"I could if you can offer me proof that you know her." He said as Ruby's eyes brightened.

"Will this be enough?" She said as she held out photgraph.

The owner took it in his hands and looked it over, it was a picture of Blake surrounded by three other girls, the same three girls who were part of the group who had just walked in. He could have sworn he had seen the white haired lass before, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"Good enough, room 421." He said as they thanked him and walked upstairs.

"How do you think she'll react?" Ruby asked as they found her door.

Surprisingly just as she was about to knock on the door. They saw the doorknob turn and then soon afterwards, they came face to face with their old friend Blake. Who was just as surprised to see them as they were to see her.

"Blake." Yang said as suddenly Blake turned tail and ran.

"Well, I guess she's going to act like a Scaredy cat. Eh?" Yang said as everyone muttered under their breath.

"Damn it Yang." Ruby said as they all suddenly realized something.

Blake was still running away.

"AFTER HER!"


	12. Talks With Friends (RUSHED)

**Okay, so this might be the only chapter I write for a few days, considering that I have a few exams to do this week before Spring Break. So we'll see how this goes.**

 **Also all the people who messaged me about wanting to write a RWBY watches Darth Arc story have all changed their minds, so anyone else who was interested in it can message me. And by that I mean they wanted to write a their own version, which I am fine with, since I probably won't be able to write a RWBY watches Darth Arc personally, but I would love to see the direction some people choose to take it in.**

 **Anyways, this is a short chapter.**

* * *

 **RWYNPR (And Blake)**

"HERE KITTY KITTY KITTY!" Yang yelled as she and the others were on Blake's tail.

"You shouldn't be here!" Blake yelled as she was trying to run away.

"We came here to find you!" Yang yelled as she was using her weapon as a booster to her jumps.

"I didn't ask you to come and find me!" She said as Yang tackled her.

"Too bad! I guess you could say this is a CATastrophe." Yang said as Blake felt like swearing under her breath.

"Can't you take this seriously for five seconds?!" Blake yelled as she felt herself falling onto the roof of a building.

"I am! Which is why I want to know...why?" Yang said, with all jokes aside, she looked genuially hurt that Blake left.

"I can't tell you!" She said as Yang propelled herself forward with Ember Celica.

"Not good enough Blake!" She said as she was getting closer and closer.

"I just can't explain it to you!" She said as she felt arms wrap around her waist.

"WE'RE TEAMMATES! You can explain anything to us!" Yang said as she tackled Blake onto the roof and pinned her down to the ground.

"You don't understand! I can't come back! Not yet! It's too dangerous!" She said as Yang was straddling her partner to make sure that she didn't get away.

"What's too dangerous?! You're not making any sense!" Yang yelled as the other caught up to her.

"I was using my semblance, and she still managed to beat me here." Ruby said as they all landed next to Yang and surrounded Blake.

"You're not going to get out of this Blake, just tell us what we need to know, and then we can all go home." Ruby said as they all pointed their weapons at Blake to show they were not taking no for an answer.

Blake sighed and looked around, she couldn't tell them why she had to go. She was too afraid about what would happen if they continued to hang around her. All her life, she had been like a black cat, causing bad luck wherever she went, and hurting those who were close to her.

"I'm cursed..." She said as Yang blinked.

"What?" She said as Blake snapped.

"I'M CURSED ALRIGHT! EVERYWHERE I GO PEOPLE GET HURT, AND EVERYTIME I GET INVOLVED WITH SOMETHING, PEOPLE DIE! I CAN'T KEEP GOING ON LIKE THIS, KNOWING THAT THE PEOPLE AROUND ME WILL GET HURT BECAUSE OF ME! I CAN'T COME BACK UNTIL I AM SURE YOU GUYS ARE SAFE! I JUST CAN'T!" She yelled as Yang looked at her.

"The hell are you talking about?!" She said as Blake glared.

"ADAM! THE ONE WHO CUT OFF YOUR ARM!" She said as Yang flinched at that.

"He, he was my ex, he was my best friend throughout the white fang, he was the one I told you about, the one who went dark. He nearly killed you Yang, he nearly killed me, and because I was too weak to take him out, you ended up losing an arm for that, as long as you're around me, you're not safe." Blake said with tears starting to show at the corners of her eyes.

"Don't you see?! I can't risk your lives until Adam, The White Fang, and the woman who killed Jaune are gone!" She was about to say more until Yang slapped her.

"Don't be stupid!" She said as she then pulled her into a hug.

"But-" Blake said as Pyrrha hopped in.

"Blake, we understand, you're scared, but you're not cursed, Adam didn't invade Beacon because of you, Cinder didn't kill Jaune because of you, and this whole thing is not your fault, it is no one but the Fang's and all those who were on their side that caused all this to happen." She said as she crouched down.

"Even then, how will running from us solve anything? Adam is out to destroy the entire human race based on what you said, so if anything running from that will only help him in the end." She said as Blake looked down.

"Blake..." Yang said as she looked at her partner.

"Look, we came here to find you, and like it or not, we're taking you back whether you like it or not, because united we stand, but divided we fall, come on, what do you say? Back to Team RWBY?" She said as Blake tried to look away.

"I...won't deny thats what I want." She said as the others smiled.

"But how can I eve begin to make up for what I have done?" She said as Nora held something up.

"How about this data pad thingy?" She said as Blake's eyes widened.

"WHAT?! HOW DID YOU GET THAT?!" She yelled as she had it in jacket pocket.

"Oh it fell out when Yang tackled you, I figured it had to be something important." She said as Yang let Blake get up.

"It is important." She said as she was surprised that it was still intact.

"Whats on it?" Ruby asked as Weiss looked at it.

"Its information about Cinder and her associates." She said as their eyes widened.

"How did you get that?!" Weiss yelled as they had not been able to find anything for months.

"I...may have broke into their base." She said as Yang looked at her in the eyes.

"But how did you find it in the first place?" She asked as Blake pointed her thumb back at the tavern.

"Hello, the bartender there is an informant, he knows everything." She said as Weiss spoke up.

"It was still a risk! What were you thinking?!" She said as Blake narrowed her eyes.

"I was thinking about all of you and Jaune, this information could very well stop Cinder's goons from doing any more harm." She said as Weiss calmed down.

"What if you were captured, especially by..." She said as she cut herself off.

"By who?" She asked as Pyrrha spoke up.

"The Black knight." She said as Blake made a face of understanding.

"I almost was." She said as everyone looked at her.

"You faced him?" They asked as she nodded.

"Yeah, I will admit, he was stronger than me, luckily he underestimated me and I managed to get away." She said as Weiss nodded.

"Makes sense, we only managed to subdue him last time because we tricked him with one of my constructs taking the form of Pyrrha." She said remembering that battle.

"Do you know who he is?" Yang asked wondering about the man in black armor.

"No I don't, but I do know one thing." She said as she held up the data pad.

"Whoever he is, its contained on this." She said as they all nodded.

"Well then, we better get back to Ironwood, this could really help us even the odds." Ruby said as everyone nodded.

"Oh and Blake? Welcome back." Ren said with a smile as she nodded.

"TEAM RWBY IS BACK!" Ruby said as everyone chuckled at her.

* * *

 **DARTH VADER**

"You have done well Lord Vader, who would have thought we would now have the plans for a new Atlas tank at our disposal?" Salem said as she now had some of her top scientists working on th AT-TE.

"It was a pleasure." He said as he bowed his head.

"Good to see the hunk of iron is good for something." Cinder said as she walked in. Vader narrowed his eyes behind his helmet.

"Cinder, what a surprise, have you made yourself useful again after the attack at beacon? Or still lazing about?" He said as she glared at him.

"Well, not all of us can be bothered on a whim." She said as she was trying to get a rise out of Vader.

"Either that, or some of us are just trusted more than others." He said as Salem slammed her hand down.

"Will you two stop bickering, its giving me a headache." She said as she sat back in her throne.

"Either way, your constant bickering with each other gets us no where, while I admire your need to be competitive, it is rather annoying to see it, so I suggest you both stay silent unless I speak to you." She said as she looked at her nails.

"Now Cinder, your mission is simple, you're going to Mistral on a seek and destroy mission, eliminate any hunters you find." She said as Cinder nodded and left the room.

"As for you _Darth._ " She said using his new first name.

"You remember the conversation we had about the Nikos girl?" She asked as he nodded.

"Yes, right before I failed to capture Belladonna." He said as she nodded.

"While I will admit, your failure there is unforgivable, I still find that you are our best candidate to capture Nikos." She said as Vader tilted his head.

"And yet Cinder was able to nearly kill her without issue, so why would you choose me?" He asked as Salem looked at a wall.

"Because while Cinder may be powerful, she has grown to rely too much on the Fall Maiden's power, you on the other hand are equally strong in both your semblance and your physical combat prowess." She said as Vader accepted that answer.

"Very well, so are you saying I will only seek to capture Nikos from now on?" He asked as she nodded.

"Yes, due to your work in giving us the intel to make stronger war machines, I am sure that this will help occupy your time until we need you for a key role in the campaign." She said as Vader nodded.

"It will be done." He said as he turned to leave.

"And Lord Vader..." She said as he turned his head.

"I still don't know how that girl managed to escape, but I want answers, and I want them soon." She said as Vader nodded.

"I'll put some of the hound's on the case." He said as she nodded.

"Very well, now go on, you have training to do." She said as Vader walked out.

"To think, that Atlas would be working on this, I'll admit, they have really outdone themselves." Salem said as she looked over the plans for the AT TE.

"Only question is just what else Ironwood has planned in that head of his?" She said as she knew the man was paranoid, but to be ordering his army to build a vehicle such as this? That was some next level paranoia.

Meanwhile in another part of the base, we see Ozpin resting after another long day of work, the limp in his leg was still present, but it had dulled a lot more due to the fact that Salem's seal was not as strong as she thought. He was now able to support himself for longer without stumbling, and he could even feel some of his wounds that he had gotten while working as a slave here start to heal. Usually his Aura was strong enough to heal wounds in seconds, and now they took minutes, but considering the fact that before it would take hours or days to heal due to the seal, he wasn't complaining.

He knew that Cinder had left his weapon behind when she had captured him, and he could only guess that somehow Qrow had gotten a hold of it. Or at least he hoped so. Either way, at the current time, he was just happy that he wasn't as weak as he was before, now if only he could tweak the seal a little more, he might be able to finally break it and help him escape and maybe save some of the fellow prisoners at the same time.

"Mr. Ozpin?" A redheaded girl popped her head around the corner.

"Yes Victoria?" He asked as she brought in something.

"Mom wanted me to give you this, she knows you're hungry." She said as she held out a piece of bread.

It wasn't much, but Ozpin was just happy to see food, Salem made sure he only got the bare minimum to survive. So this was a welcome sight to him.

"Thank you Victoria." He said as he took the piece of bread and took a bite, and while it was plain, at that point any food was a gift from god.

"Mr. Ozpin...have you ever met Darth Vader?" She asked as he was surprised at her question.

"Why do you ask?" He asked wondering why a little girl would want to know about the infamous dark lord.

"It's just, I ran into him, and he was just so scary, all I could feel was the need to run away." She said as Ozpin nodded.

His former student certainly had that presence of get out of the way or you would soon be dead.

"But, then I looked into his eyes." She said as Ozpin raised an eyebrow.

"His eyes?" He asked wondering how she could even see his eyes behind the helmet.

"Yes, his eyes, and while they seemed dark and cold, its like I could see something else, something completely different, almost as if someone was screaming for help, is that strange?" She asked as Ozpin closed his eyes.

While he wanted to keep a positive attitude that Jaune may still be alive in there, he didn't know what to think of anything anymore. So he finished his bread and looked at her.

"Maybe its your way of trying to see the best in him." He said as she scratched her cheek.

"I guess, I don't know, I don't really know much yet, I didn't even get to start school before the attack on Mistral." She said as Ozpin chuckled.

"Sometimes you will find that your instinct may make you sharper than an education, but what matters is if you choose to trust them." He asked as she smiled.

"I guess that makes sense, well, I better get back before the Queen's hounds show up." She said as she looked out the doorway.

"Thank you for the bread Victoria." He said as she smiled at him.

"Anytime." She replied as she walked away.


	13. Revelation

**Okay here we go, now once again addressing the RWBY watches thing, I'm just listing that as an open challenge for anyone, that way I don't have to keep typing about it in my author's notes. So its on my profile, if you want to take it.**

 **Anyways, here we go.**

* * *

 **DARTH VADER**

"Commander Wolfe, take Private Ape and Private Dog with you to investigate how that spy got in." Vader said as Wolfe nodded.

"Yes sir. On the way." He said as he motioned for two hounds to follow him.

Vader was thinking over how he was going to capture Nikos. Obviously she would not be so willing to walk into a trap. So he would need to find a way to meet her in battle. In fact that was his preferred method. He hated staying in the shadows doing espionage, give him a good fight any day to show that his training had paid off. Anything less than that was cowardly, while espionage had its use, that didn't mean he had to like it.

"Gah! You stupid girl!" He heard a very familair voice say..again.

"Not this shit again." He said as he walked around the corner.

Sure enough, there was Obsidian Iris once again, the man was like a case of the flu, he was not easy to get rid of. Only this time instead of trying to beat down an old man, this time it was a little girl. Vader may have been a cold hearted monster. But when he saw that Obsidian was about to punch the girl, he didn't know why, he felt himself spring into action.

"And just what do you think you're doing?" He asked as he grabbed the hand and Obsidian felt a very cold chill go down his spine once again.

"L-Lord Vader!" He stammered out as he could feel the cyborgs glare burning a hole through him once again.

"Didn't I warn you not to waste time by mocking the servants?" He said as he grabbed the man's throat and lifted him in the air.

"I-I was just trying to teach this girl to respect her superiors!" He said as he was having trouble breathing.

"Her superiors? You are superior to no one here, you're nothing but a glorified thief, if anything you're the most expendable resource here." He said as he threw him into a wall.

"Now get out of here, and don't let me catch you wasting time like this again." He said as Obsidian nodded and scurried off.

 _"Something tells me this won't be the end of my problems with him."_ Vader thought as he felt a slight tug on his cape.

"Hm?" He said as he looked down to see the red haired girl.

"T-Thank you Lord Vader." She said trying to smile at him.

"I didn't do it for you." He said as he went to turn away only for the little girl to tug on his cape again.

"I know that, but Thank you, my mommy always taught me to thank those who helped you." She said as she looked down.

"Now whats the matter?" Vader said showing irritation, and for some reason he couldn't understand, concern.

"It's just, that man threw my rations into the vents, and I haven't eaten anything all day." She said as she looked at Vader.

At this point he grumbled to himself, while he did not want to appear soft in front of everyone else, especially Cinder because she would never let him hear the end of it. He knew that a starving servant would be no good. A well fed and strong servant would work hard, a starving one would still work, but slowly and weak, and a dead one would only get in the way. So deciding that this was a matter of work, he motioned the girl to follow him.

"Follow me, I will get you another package of rations." He said as her eyes lit up.

"Thank you!" She said as she still didn't let go of his cape.

"This is a one time thing, don't expect me to come to your rescue again." He said as she hummed.

"Okay." She said just glad that she wasn't going to have to go without food.

"Will you stop holding my cloak?" He said being slightly annoyed.

"But I like it, its soft." She said rubbing her face against it.

"You're beginning to annoy me." He said, even though deep down, he knew he wouldn't do anything to harm a child.

"But I gave you the opportunity to mess with the bad man back there." She said as Vader grunted.

Damn it, she got him there.

"After we get your rations, make yourself scarce, I can't have people thinking I'm going soft." He said as she tilted her head.

"Well, you just choked slammed that guy into a wall back there, wouldn't that be proof you're not going soft?" She said as he shook his head.

"Not if it looked like I was doing it to protect you." He said as she looked down the hallway.

"What's wrong with protecting people?" She asked as Vader looked down.

Come to think of it, what was wrong with protecting people?

"...Just stop talking, we're here." He said as he came to the rations depot.

"Okay!" She said with a bubbly voice.

This girl was...interesting, and that was putting it mildly. He had met this girl once before, but she was afraid of him then, and yet this time she seemed so willing to come with him, even having a conversation with him, but why? Why would this girl risk angering the dark lord? It made no sense to him, and why did he protect her in the first place? He had no reason to other than that she was good for the workforce. But what good was she as a worker? She couldn't have been more than six, what use could she have around the base?

"Here." He said as he handed her a multitude of ration packs.

"Uhm, Lord Vader, this is more than I need." She said as she was confused.

"I'm giving you the rest if you forget to mention just what happened today to anyone, do we have an understanding?" He asked as she nodded her head.

"Okay, but, will I ever get to see you again?" She asked as he grunted.

"Only when I'm walking by." He said as she started to walk away.

"Sounds lonely, don't you think you would be happier with people around you?" She said in an innocent tone of voice.

"...Just go." He said as she shrugged her shoulders and walked away.

"You know, you're a lot nicer than you let on." She said as she disappeared around a corner. Leaving Vader to his own thoughts.

* * *

 **BACK AT VICTORIA'S QUARTERS**

"Victoria! Where have you been?!" Her mother said as she scooped her up and hugged her.

"Ugh, Mommy, Can't breath!" She said as her mother put her down.

"I was worried sick! I asked one of the other servants, and they said you were with Darth Vader! What did you do?!" She asked knowing about the cyborgs reputation.

"I didn't do anything!" She said as her mother suddenly looked at her arms.

"Victoria...where did you get that food?" She asked noticing the rather large portion of rations in her daughters arms.

"Vader gave them to me." She said with a smile as her mother felt her jaw drop.

"Uhm...excuse me?" She asked as she was not believing what she was hearing.

"Yeah, I don't know why, I told him that someone had thrown my rations down the vents, and he took me to get more." She said as her mother was close to having a heart attack.

"Victoria, I told you to stay away from him, you know how dangerous he is!" She said yelling at her in a hush tone.

"I know Mommy, but he helped me, he can't be all bad can he?" She said as her mother shook her head.

"One act of kindness if we can even call it that is not enough to redeem what he has done, now promise me you will not go near him again!" She said as Victoria looked sad and turned away.

"I...Promise." She said as her mother hugged her.

"I'm sorry, its just, I already lost your father and your brothers, I don't want to lose you too." She said as her daughter smiled.

"It's okay Mommy, I know you care about me." She said as they both pulled away.

"However, I will admit, I am hungry, and you did bring back a rather large amount of food." She said with a smile.

"Well, why don't we dig in!" She said as she opened a package.

It was probably the happiest the pair had been since they had been taken captive and forced to work in this hell hole.

* * *

 **BACK AT BASE WITH RWBY AND NPR**

"Welcome back Miss Belladonna." General Ironwood said as a figure was in the corner drinking.

"Yeah, good to see you decided to stop running away." Qrow said as Ruby glared at her uncle.

"Uncle Qrow!" She said as Blake held up a hand.

"No he's right, I did run away." She said as Qrow waved a hand.

"As long as you admit it and actually stand with us and fight, its water under the bridge." He said as he walked forward.

"Either way, let's hope whatever you have on that data pad is useful." Qrow said as Blake nodded and put it into a slot.

"I guarantee you, most of it is useful." She said as she had made sure to download important files.

Soon enough, they had the holographic display up showing what she had found.

"The entire base is underground with an entrance hidden among the nearby mountain range, its almost impossible to find if you don't have a lead, especially since the entire entrance is camouflaged so well, you think it was under an illusion." She said as Ironwood nodded.

"And how did you manage to get this information?" Qrow asked as Blake smirked.

"I used to be a member of the white fang, do you really think I still don't have some of my old contacts?" She said as Qrow smirked back.

"Point taken." He said as he sat back.

"What else can you tell us?" Ironwood asked looking at the display.

"Security is heavy, but not unstoppable, once I got in, I had roughly ten minutes to get in and get out, and thats if the Queen's hounds don't realize you're there." She said as they raised an eyebrow.

"Queen's hounds?" Ironwood asked as Blake brought up another display.

"Armored soldiers working for Cinder, former white fang members mutated and brainwashed to a point where they don't even know what is right or wrong, only how to obey orders, very dangerous as you can tell, based on the attack on one of your convoys not too long ago." She said as Ironwood narrowed his eyes.

"Yes...we observed them on security footage, although we have been calling them Storm Troopers due to the fact that there was a storm when they raided the convoy, they stole all of our supplies, as well as...well it was going to be our ace in the hole." Ironwood said as he tapped a few buttons.

"Unfortunately they found the plans for this." He said as they all stared in shock at what he pulled up.

It appeared to be a giant tank with six legs, kind of like an insect, but the feature that caught their eyes was the main cannon on top of the tank, as well as six other cannons, with four up front near the driver's seat, as well as two in the back. Overall, this was like nothing they had ever seen before.

"What the hell is that thing?" Yang asked, she knew Atlas was advanced, but that seemed crazy even for them.

"The AT TE, All Terrain Tactical Enforcer, we designed this a while back, it was meant to not only carry more troops, but to also deliver devestating blows to the enemy, it was also the first to feature our new weaponized electromagnetic radiation technology." He said as Yang looked confused.

"Lasers, Yang." Ruby said as Yang just mad an 'oh' sound.

"But Atlas has had lasers for years, whats so new about it?" Ruby asked as Ironwood pulled up a clip.

"As you can see, this is far more destructive." He said as he played a video.

What they saw was...impressive to say the least. What they saw was somehow the AT TE was able to climb up a mountain despite it being a steep slope, not only that but when they got to the laser demonstration, well lets put it this way, it was able to take out six carrier ships that would have been used to transport Atlesian knights at the same time. While the carrier ships were not indestructible, the fact that the cannons had been able to take them down so easily was a testament to their strength.

"And now the enemy has it." Weiss said as she rubbed her eyes with one hand.

"Seems like you need to take care of your toys a little bit more James." Qrow said as Ironwood glared at him.

"I had some of the best men I had guarding that, and it would have been fine if that Black figure didn't show up!" Ironwood said as Blake blinked.

"You mean Vader?" She asked as they turned to her.

"You know him?!" Ironwood said as he was shocked she had that information.

"I fought him." She said as they all sat down.

"And what can you tell us?" Qrow asked as even he stopped drinking to listen to this.

He had heard of this black knight, but only in rumors, going around destroying anything that got in his way, small towns, small battalions, and even some white fang cells, whoever he was, he was dangerous, and didn't seem to hesitate to kill his enemies. And based on what his niece had told him from their first battle, he definitely was no slouch when it came to combat.

"Not much, when I fought him, he was able to block dust ammunition with his hand, he was definitely a lot quicker than you would think for a man of his size in that heavy of an armor, and he obviously has health problems if the raspy breathing I heard was any sign, but whoever he was, it was almost like he was toying with me, he knew I was a threat, and yet it was almost like he was holding back." She said as she pressed a button on her data pad.

"But I found this footage of him training." She said as they all turned to watch the encounter.

What they saw was almost too fast to comprehend. Vader was fighting at least twenty white fang members, and yet he was cutting them down like he was slicing through warm butter. If you blinked, you saw a head rolling on the floor, if you turned away, you saw another get bisected, and if you closed your eyes to stop watching, you could only hear the sounds of the screaming over the footage.

"Great, another ruthless killer to deal with." Qrow said as he felt sick watching some of it.

Killing Grimm in brutal ways was one thing, but faunus and humans? It still made him sick to think about it.

"I also found this." She said as she turned to footage of Vader and strangely enough Cinder kneeling down.

 _"It will be done."_ Vader said as they still shivered at the sound of his voice.

 _"I'll get Mercury and Emerald, and we'll get started on the mission."_ Cinder said as everyone suddenly realized something.

"Cinder's not the boss...she's working for someone else..." Ruby said as Ironwood sighed.

"So we got a merciless cyborg, a woman with the fall maiden's powers, and both of them are the pawns of someone else." Ironwood said as he took a flask out of his pocket.

"You know Jimmy, this might be the pot calling the kettle black, but you shouldn't be drinking so much." Qrow said as Ironwood glared.

"Says the man who is always drunk." He said as he took a gulp of whiskey.

"I'm used to it, you still have to act like a respectable member of society." Qrow said as he took a drink out of his own flask.

"Anything else?" Ironwood asked as Blake shook her head.

"Only thing I know is that he seems to have come out of nowhere, never heard about anyone being called Vader before, even my contact in Riverdell had never heard of him, the only thing I know is that he's brutal and enigmatic." She said as Pyrrha was looking over the display.

Once again, she had that feeling of familiarity when she looked at Vader, and she couldn't shake it, whoever he was, they had to have met before, right? She shook her head of the thought, but no matter what she couldn't help but feel a nagging feeling at the back of her head.

"There's one more thing." She said as she pulled up another bit of footage.

As they looked at it, they all felt disgusted, everywhere they looked, there were a numerous amount of slaves, both human and faunus, being forced to work for this figure in the shadows. Some looked like they were straving, some looked like they had beaten multiple times, and some looked like they were ready to die then and there. And of course, just as Ironwood thought that, he saw a woman fall down and die, only for the other slaves to have to move her body and throw it into what he assumed was a trash compactor. He clenched his hand at that, the one thing he couldn't stand was disrespect to the dead. No matter who they were, they deserved a proper burial, that was what he believed.

"So not only are we dealing with killers, but profiteers of slave labor?" He asked as Blake nodded.

"Yes, and this is the most humane footage I could find, the rest is much worse." She said as suddenly Pyrrha jumped up.

"WAIT!" She yelled as she walked over with her eyes wide.

"Pyrrha?" Blake asked as she was shoved out of the way.

"GO BACK A CLIP!" She yelled as Blake looked confused.

"But that was just some prison-" She said but Pyrrha turned to her enraged.

"GO BACK A CLIP!" She yelled as Blake decided to listen to her.

She didn't know why Pyrrha seemed so angry, but she decided to humor the angry amazon. She knew that it was not a good idea to get in Pyrrha's way if she wanted something. So Blake rewound the clip, and they next thing they knew was they saw a camera going over the prisoners of war.

"Why did you want to see this?" Blake asked as she really didn't want to watch more of this than she had to.

Suddenly she saw Pyrrha put her hand to her mouth and fall to her knees.

"Pyrrha?" Nora asked as both she and Ren walked up on both sides of Pyrrha.

"I-It can't be..." Pyrrha said as she was starting to cry.

"What?" Nora asked as she looked up, and suddenly she saw what had made Pyrrha cry.

Ren looked up as soon as he saw Nora get that look on her face. And sure enough, he felt the same way when he saw what was on the screen. It wasn't long before everyone was looking at what had captivated Pyrrha's gaze.

"No way." Yang said as she rubbed her eyes not believing what she was seeing.

"Is that?" Weiss said as she took a step back.

"But that's impossible!" Ruby said as she had to steady herself against Blake.

"No, No that can't be right." Blake said as she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"It's him." Pyrrha said as she felt slight joy.

In one of the cells chained to a cot, was Jaune, her former teammate, and while he looked worse for wear, the slight motion of his chest moving up and down was proof that he was breathing.

"It's Jaune...He's alive." Pyrrha said as she felt a wave of emotion cover her.

Jaune was alive, and he was in grave danger.


	14. Making Plans (Slight Filler)

**Okay, another chapter, once again the challenge is on my profile for any takers. Also, in case you didn't notice, this is chapter 14, so if you completely missed chapter 13, don't worry, fanfiction for some reason isn't showing that it has been updated today, but the chapter is still up, I don't know, I thought they would have fixed that glitch by now. Oh well, I guess they will get around to it when they can.**

 **Here we go**

* * *

 **PYRRHA**

Pyrrha couldn't believe it, she had immediately returned to her room, some would assume it was because she couldn't handle what she had just seen. But the truth was she didn't want anyone to see her completely break down. Jaune was alive, all these months, and he was alive! She could have jumped for joy if she didn't realize that he was being held prisoner. Either way, she just burst into tears as soon as she reached her room.

"I can't believe it, all this time, he's been alive." She said as she hugged her knees as the tears fell.

She wanted to be happy, she honestly did, she wanted to scream in joy that he wasn't dead. But as soon as she calmed down, she realized something terrible. He was alive, but he was in the hands of Cinder and whoever she was working for. And that made her feel like a hole had appeared in her stomach. Jaune was not in good health in that clip she saw, which meant that they had to be torturing him, Jaune was suffering!

And in a way, she blamed herself. It was her fault that Jaune was like this, Jaune had come back for her, Jaune had saved her, and she had left his body there on that tower, only for him to fall into the hands of Cinder. If she had only brought his body down with her, maybe he could still be with her. After all, she thought he was dead, and yet for some reason, he was still breathing in that clip. Which meant he wasn't as dead as she thought. Which brought up another question.

Why would Cinder keep Jaune hostage? Was it just to spite her? Did Cinder really hate her that much that she would kidnap those she loved and torture them? Pyrrha clenched her fist at the thought, Jaune could be her torture toy for all she knew. And that made her angry.

"I'm coming Jaune, just hold on a little longer." She said as she saw something glint in the corner of her room.

And then she remembered something, she still had Crocea Mors, the sword and shield/sheath was just sitting in the corner collecting dust. Quickly, she ran over and picked it up, the weapon almost emitting its own aura, almost as if there was life in it, just as there was life in Jaune.

"Don't worry, he'll be back." She said as she strapped Crocea Mors to her back.

"Pyrrha..." Ren said as Nora and the rest of team RWBY came to her door.

"Yeah?" She asked as they all looked at her.

"It's hard to believe, for so long we thought he was dead, and it turns out he's alive." Ruby said as Pyrrha nodded.

"And it's up to us to get him back." She said as Weiss held up a hand.

"How? We can't just go charging in, Cinder would see us almost immediately." She said as Pyrrha turned to her.

"Do you forget we already have someone who has been there?" She asked as she turned to look at Blake.

"Sneaking one person in is a lot different than sneaking in two whole teams." She said as Pyrrha glared at her.

"Come on! You're talking about it like it's impossible!" She said as Blake held up her hands in defense.

"I'm not saying we shouldn't do it, but we have to consider the risks." She said as Pyrrha tried to calm down.

"Every second we wait, Jaune is still in there! God knows what they are doing to him!" She said as Ren grabbed her shoulder.

"Pyrrha, we know what you're thinking, but hear us out, you're angry, and we understand that, there is nothing more we would like than to help get Jaune out of there, but we need to have a plan of attack, otherwise we're just wasting our time." Ren said as Pyrrha was still finding it hard to calm down.

"And when will that be? A day? A Month? A year? I can't wait that long!" She said as Blake spoke up.

"Look, Pyrrha, just give me a day or two, enough to come up with a plan to get in and out of there." She said as Pyrrha looked at her.

"How can you expect me to wait that long, Please, I need to get him out of there." She said as you could see the tears in her eyes.

"It's all my fault..." She said as Ruby spoke up.

"Pyrrha, its not your-" She was cut off by the tall red head.

"I left him, he was my partner and I left him, and when I came back, I thought he had been eaten by Grimm, and yet when I killed that Grimm, I didn't see any signs of his remains being left behind, just blood and Crocea Mors, if I hadn't left him up there, all of this could have been avoided." She said as Nora spoke up.

"Pyrrha, beating yourself about this won't change the past, but we have to plan carefully for the future, what if when we get in there, they see us coming and kill him out of spite?" She said as Pyrrha snapped at her.

"DON'T YOU EVER SAY THAT!" She said as Nora held her hands up in defense.

"I don't want to say it P! But it's true! Cinder hates you! And she will do whatever it takes to hurt you! What good will your bravado do if it gets Jaune killed!" She said as Pyrrha went silent.

Pyrrha took a step back, who would have thought Nora would make a good point. Not only was she telling the truth, but it was the same situation happening all over again, Pyrrha about to head in to fight an impossible battle, and Jaune ending up paying for it with his life. She shook her head, No. She couldn't go through that again, if Jaune died because of her, she wasn't sure if she could ever forgive herself.

"I-I'm sorry, I just, I want him back." She said as Nora hugged her.

"We all do, if it wasn't for the fact Ren already had this same talk with me, I would probably be running off with you to get him back, but we need time to formulate a plan." Nora said as she herself had almost run off with Magnhild to rescue their fearless leader.

Pyrrha turned to Blake, the Cat Faunus having an impassive look on her face, but you could tell that there was nothing but concern in her eyes. She didn't want to have to lose a friend all over again. There had been enough death, thats why they had to be sure that they came up with a plan to insure that their foolishness did not get Jaune killed in the crossfire.

"Blake...Please, help me save him." She said as Blake nodded.

"Give me two days, two days to coordinate a plan, lucky for you, I happen to know someone on the inside. But we can't afford to screw this up." She said as Pyrrha smiled in relief.

"Thank you." She said as she sat down while unstrapping Crocea mors from his back.

"Well, looks like she won't have to sit in a corner forever after all eh pyrrha?" Ruby said as for the first time in a long time, Pyrrha gave a genuine smile.

"No, no she won't." She said as she looked over the sword.

Soon, all would be well, and they could be a team again. Just like with Ruby's team.

Unfortunately, sometimes you only get to see one miracle at a time.

* * *

 **DARTH VADER**

"Why did Salem want me to bring in my weapon? It works perfectly fine." Vader said as he was waiting for one of the blacksmiths to finish his work.

"She figured that since you use it all the time, then it should have some proper maintenance done on it." The man said as he looked it over.

"Are you suggesting I don't know how to care for my weapon?" Vader asked as the man shook his head.

"Not at all, just that it's best to put her doubts aside." He said as he looked over Atra Mors.

"Seems perfectly fine, I sharpened it a bit more to give you a cleaner slice." He said as Vader took his weapon back.

"Again, something I could have done myself." He said as he walked away.

As he was leaving the weapons depot, he couldn't help but look at the Queen's hounds in formation just a few levels below. Salem was right, they were disciplined, even more so than Atlas Soldiers, and their skills in combat had even impressed Vader, who was not easily impressed. As it also turns out, their casualty rate on any mission was very low, the armor they wore while not indestructible did a good job of absorbing damage so that you could get back up if you were shot. Granted it did have its weak points such as in the shoulder area, in the knees, or near the armpit.

But Vader doubted that anyone would try to aim for those areas. Still though, there was something that kept bothering him about them. The whole part about brainwashing them, he didn't know why, but that was something that really struck a cord in him. The idea of brainwashing seemed cruel even for him, and yet he was the man who had killed hundreds with just a sword and his own hands. While he could easily kill his foes with his semblance, most of the time he only used it for when he wanted to toy with his opponents or when he had to prove to his subordinates that he was not to be taken lightly.

But back to the question at hand, why was brainwashing so hard for him to think about? He shook his head, obviously he was just overthinking it. Suddenly he felt a presence.

"I thought I told you to stay away from me." He said as he saw a head poke out from around the corner.

"Actually you just told me not to mention I spoke to you." Victoria said with a smile.

"Why are you following me? I'm busy." He said as Victoria walked up beside him.

"You looked lonely." She said as Vader grunted.

"I'm perfectly fine on my own, thank you very much." He said as he could not believe this little girl was still following him.

"Besides, I can't imagine your mother would be too fond of you spending time around me." He said as she nodded her head.

"I know, she says you're a bad man, and that I shouldn't be around you." She said as Vader looked at her.

"She's right, and you shouldn't be around me." He said as she was now skipping.

"But you don't seem like the man everyone tells me you are." She said as Vader didn't know how to shake this little girl off of him.

"Perhaps I'm only luring you in so I can hurt you." He said as she just giggled.

"You would have done it by now, Silly." She said as Vader looked down at her.

"Do NOT call me silly." He said as he was getting more and more irritated.

"Why not?" She asked as Vader scoffed.

"It's irritating." He simply replied.

"You seem to find everything irritating Mr. Grumpy pants." She said imitating a mock gruff tone of voice as Vader turned away.

"You're beginning to try my patience." He said as he emphasized his point by putting a hand on the pommel of his sword.

"Okay fine, well I have to get back to work anyways, I'll talk to you soon." She said as she ran off.

"No, leave me alone, I don't know why you bothered coming here." He said as she said one last thing before she disappeared.

"To show you that you don't have to be so angry all the time." She said as she ran off.

"You would have better luck trying to keep a Beowolf as a pet." He said as he walked off.

 _"Theres more to you Vader, I just know it."_ Victoria thought to herself as she ran away.

* * *

 **WITH OZPIN**

His knee was getting better, he was able to access just a little more aura. The only problem was he still couldn't use his semblance, and the only thing he had to use for a weapon was a wooden walking stick they had given him to use. Apparently Salem made the mistake of thinking he was too powerless to fight back. But he was going to show her, he knew that this seal would wear off eventually, but until then he had to keep a low profile.

He had seen the confrontation between his former student and Victoria, and while he couldn't hear them, all he knew was that he saw Vader show his sword, obviously giving a warning for her to leave. Now Ozpin was still unsure of who Vader was, was he still Jaune Arc or was he fully consumed by Darth Vader? Over the weeks that went by, he could never figure out an answer, most of the time Vader was this cold emotionless monster who only seemed to find enjoyment in killing, but every now and then, there was a sliver of kindness. Course he wasn't sure if what he did could count as kindness.

One such act was when Vader broke a servants neck for being in horrible pain due to disease. While it was certainly a release from his suffering, there was also the fact that he had killed without question. And then there was little Victoria, he knew that Vader had given her those extra rations, but once again, he seemed rather irritated about it. So why did he give her them?

It didn't make any sense, was he doing this because he didn't want weak servants? Or was there something more to it. For all of Ozpin's years of wisdom, of all the knowledge he had accumulated over the years, even he could not figure out the enigma that was Darth Vader.

"I don't know what to do...for the first time in my life, I don't know what to do." He said as he turned to get back to his work.

For the first time in his life, he felt truly lost.


	15. Making Plans (Part Two)

**Okay once again, writing a chapter for this, I'll be honest, Punisher Jaune is pretty much on Hiatus due to a lack of inspiration, but this, this one just keeps coming to me easily. I don't know why, but its like I know how to mix and match it here and there. Either way, it enables me to update faster. And surprisingly write faster. Right now, I feel like that guy from Limitless.**

 **Here we go.**

* * *

 **RWBY and NPR**

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Ironwood said as Pyrrha nodded.

"Never been more sure of something in my life." She said as Ironwood sighed.

"You realize just how much of a risk this is right? Not only are you asking me to send in two of my best teams, but also to risk losing them against an enemy we haven't been able to defeat, and who has been steadily taking out our forces." He said as he saw Qrow in the corner.

"Think of it this way Jimmy, if they succeed, this could also give us an advantage, we know where their base is, and we can probably take it out once an for all." Qrow said as Ironwood turned to him.

"Even so, they will be going up against the Maiden, Vader, and whoever the hell is in charge of them." He said trying to make everyone see just what they were getting into.

"If you got a better plan Jim, I would love to hear it, but to be honest, we're running out of ideas." He said as Ironwood grunted.

It was true, as much as Ironwood hated to admit it, they were in trouble. They could hold off ground troops, and they still had some of their air fleet, but these constant attacks, and some of the militia going over to the wrong side, it was getting harder and harder to find allies you could trust. But if this place was truly their base of operations, it would deal a serious blow to the enemy, and maybe even show everyone that it wasn't an uphill battle, and that Cinder could be beat.

"It's a risk, but you're right, we are running out of ideas. So I'll hear this plan out. But don't expect me to like it." He said as Blake held up the data pad.

"As I said before, the base is underground with the entrance being hidden in the mountains, as well as one of those peaks being used as an observation tower to make sure that no enemy infantry, artillery or vehicles is coming through." She said as she pointed to key areas on the map.

"But while it's well hidden, its also well fortified, maybe we could lay a siege on it if we had the equipment, but the nearest depot is still weeks away, so laying siege to it is out of the question, however they won't be able to see two small teams coming closer, as they don't take the threat of small groups seriously." She said as she pointed to the observation tower hidden in the mountain peak.

"But even if you can't get past that and to the entrance, how do you plan on making your way past security and into the prison?" Ironwood asked as Pyrrha looked at her team and spoke up.

"My team will make our way to the prison, RWBY's team will be our means of gathering more information as well as taking out any hostiles that may appear while we make our way towards them." She said as Qrow piped up.

"And what about the security cameras?" Qrow asked as he knew that could make any mission difficult.

"I have a friend on the inside, he could wire old footage into the camera feeds, but only for a short amount of time, maybe fifteen to thirty minutes tops. Just enough time to get in and get out of there." Blake said as Ironwood looked over the prison.

"And what about them?" He asked as they looked at all the prisoners.

"You can't go through all of this just to save one man, there are hundreds more there." He said as he saw all the people suffering.

"We can't release them all, that would take too much time. And we would be captured." Weiss said as even she had to admit, she hated herself for saying that.

"Says who?" Qrow asked as they all looked at him.

"What? You mean to tell me with your friend switching the feeds, and making your way to the prisoner section, you can't find one way to free some of those people? Come on." He said as he walked over.

"And what do you suggest?" Ironwood said as he was willing to hear this plan out.

"I'll go with." He said as everyone looked at him in surprise.

"You? But we need you here!" Ironwood said objecting to it.

"Think about it, if by chance those seven are caught, they won't be expecting a full fledged huntsman there, these guys may be strong, but they'll find me much more difficult to deal with, would make for a great distraction wouldn't it?" He said as Ironwood sighed.

He knew Qrow was a crazy drunk, but this could be suicide, even for him.

"And how do you plan to escape?" He asked as he wasn't risking one of his top spies for this.

"Oh come on Jimmy, you mean to tell me you really have that much doubt in me? I have so many ways to escape, there is no way anyone could predict what I am going to do next." Qrow said with a drunken smile.

Honestly, he had developed so many ways to escape because he had to do it constantly at family reunions, and while he enjoyed spending time with his nieces, when they were little they were really clingy and grabby, needless to say he sometimes wondered if he was so good at sneaking away because of those two. Not that he would let them know it. Overall, a few white fang grunts and maybe some of those Queen's hound wouldn't be a problem.

"It still seems like a risk." He said as he turned away.

"Everything is a risk now General, please if we don't do this now, we may never get this chance again." Ruby said as Ironwood sighed.

"Something tells me I am going to regret this, but I'll allow it." He said as he saw Pyrrha give him a smile.

"But, at the slightest signal that things are going south, you get out of there, I have lost too many men on covert operations because they misjudged their mission parameters." He said as Qrow looked at them.

"Unless you're about a few seconds away from your objective, then you can just do it quick and get out of there." He said as Ironwood turned to him.

"You of all people know the answer to that one Qrow, no matter where they are, they come back." He said as Qrow nodded.

"Geez, wouldn't even let me lighten the mood." He said as Ironwood grunted.

"You better get a good night's worth of sleep, your mission starts tomorrow." He said as he left the room, needing a drink now more than ever.

"You sure this will work?" Pyrrha turned to Blake to ask.

"I'm sure, what could go wrong?" She said as Ruby suddenly squealed.

"WHY DID YOU SAY THAT?!" She said as they looked at her.

"Huh?" They asked not knowing why she freaked out.

"Everytime someone says something like 'what could do wrong?' or 'This can't possibly get any worse' things always go wrong or get worse!" She said as Yang chuckled and ruffled Ruby's hair.

"Oh Ruby, I'm sure you've just been reading too many comic books." She said as Ruby glared at her.

"Well excuse me for worrying! Now I got to go do maintenance on Crescent Rose, she needs to be in perfect working condition!" She said as she sped off.

"Well, shes pretty wound up for this." Yang said as she turned to Pyrrha.

"But you seem rather calm, I figured you would be jumping for joy or at the very least nervous." She said as Pyrrha looked out the window.

"It's just, it just hit me that this could be our second chance." She said as Yang raised an eyebrow.

"The last time I saw him, he told me he loved me. But the chance for anything more than that was taken away when he died, and now I find out he's been held captive for so long, and while it hurts me to know the amount of pain he must be in, my heart also feels like a weight has been taken off of it, because when we save him, we can start over again, have a real relationship, not just as friends, but as...well...you know-" She said as she blushed a little bit.

"Oh Pyrrha, you're already starting to act like your old self, come on, lets get some sleep." Yang said as Pyrrha nodded.

 _"I'm coming Jaune, it's all going to be okay."_

* * *

 **DARTH VADER**

Lord Vader was returning from another mission, while his primary mission was to capture Nikos, there was a slight resistance group closing in on their base, and while it was completely by accident, they couldn't risk it. In the end, it turned out to be a small group of two hundred and thirty people. Not nearly enough to fight against them, this time he didn't even get involved with the fighting, he stayed back and let the Hound's go to work. As it turns out, this resistance group actually put up a fight. There were a few former students of Signal academy who did not make it out alive, but they certainly did a better job of fighting the hounds than the rest of their friends. Vader was impressed, it wasn't too often that he saw the hounds bested in combat.

"Sir, unfortunately the supplies they were carrying were booby trapped, Corporal Fox tried to open a crate, and it was filled with Claymore mines." Lieutenant Hawk said as he walked up.

"It seems the resistance knows of our methods of attacks, so are trying to destroy their supplies before we can make use of it. Clever, but foolish." He said as he knew that if they were destroyed, that was also a chunk of supplies that would never fall into their hands.

But at the same time it would never fall into the hands of the Queen, so it was a double edge sword.

"Doesn't it show they're desperate sir?" Hawk said as Vader nodded.

"Desperate to cut off our supplies or desperate to kill us, either one works." He said as Hawk held up a scroll.

"You know, this has been spreading all over the place, newscast of the Black Knight." He said as Vader took a look at it.

Sure enough, somehow they had obtained a photograph of him that was being used to issue warnings to any and all resistance fighters, to either flee on sight, or to fight with everything you had. In a way, Vader found it flattering, and yet he was confused, how did they get a picture of him? Then he remembered the woman who had broken into the base not too long ago.

He clenched his gloved fist at the thought. Belladonna, Wolfe's investigation had still turned nothing up on the incident. All security footage of her getting into the base was erased when she broke in. But yet, why did she break in? According to the records, there was no sign of her stealing any data, nor was there any sign of bombs being planted, so what was she doing there?

Another thing that had been bothering him over the past few days was that the little girl Victoria would not stop following him around. Even though she didn't strike up a conversation with him anymore after he pointed his sword at her, she still stuck to the shadows and chose to watch him. As much as it annoyed him, she at least wasn't speaking, and she kept her distance, so he decided to let it slide, although he did occasionally yell at her to get back to work and stop wasting his time.

 _"Lord Vader, we need you down in Torture and Interrogation."_ A voice said over his com link.

"Very well." He said as he walked over to an elevator.

This wasn't the first time he had been asked to go down there, over the past few months they had been capturing former huntsman and huntresses in order to interrogate them for any information on their friends hideouts. Unfortunately most of them didn't know anything, so they got sent to the incinerator. Very few were kept alive, and even then they usually ended up being brainwashed and forced to serve in the Queen's hounds. So either way, they get rid of an enemy and gain an ally, either way, Salem won.

They only called Vader down to help with the serious prisoners, ones who were tough nuts to crack. After all, who was more intimidating than a giant figure in armor who you know had killed everyone and everything that stood in his way.

"Well, where is the prisoner?" He asked as a woman in a gray uniform pointed to interrogation room R2.

"Thank you." He said as he walked through the door.

"Here is the prisoner Lord Vader, Fox was down here earlier trying his hand, but he's been persistent." Wolfe said as he walked over and tightened the restraints.

"Thank you Commander, leave us." He said as Wolfe knodded and left the room, gripping something in his hand.

"So, Professor Ozpin, former headmaster of Beacon Academy." He said as he lifted the man's head up.

"Vader." He said as Vader took his sword off of his belt and laid it down on the table.

"I'm sure you know why they summoned me here." He said as he clenched his fist.

"Obviously they think you can break me, but you won't fair any better than the others." He said as Vader turned around.

"We'll see about that." He said as he held out his hand.

At first there was nothing, But then Ozpin felt a pressure start to build in his chest, not on his chest, but actually inside his chest. He suddenly found it hard to breath as he felt his lungs being crushed underneath an unknown pressure. He tried to do anything, even take in a few breaths of air, but all he could manage to do was hack, cough or strain just to breath in.

"Hurts doesn't it?" Vader said as he only increased the force behind it.

"W-what are you doing?!" Ozpin managed to scream out.

"With enough training in my semblance, you could say that I can pinpoint exactly what I want to do damage to, granted this is difficult to utilize in combat, but perfect for interrogation." He said as he let up on it, and Ozpin took in great gasps of air.

"If you think that's enough to break me, then you got another thing going." He said as he glared at the monster in front of him.

"Oh Professor, this is just the beginning." He said as he held out his hand again.

"Now, lets see just how strong you are." He said as he felt the pressure engulf him once again.

All anyone could hear from that room were gasping noises and screams of pain for hours on end.

* * *

 **WITH VICTORIA**

"Thats the last of the extra food." Victoria said a little sad that they would have to scrape by on meager rations again.

"Hey, we've been in worst shape before, compared to the days before this, we're practically a pair of spoiled rich kids who eat too much." Her mother said as Victoria nodded.

"It's just I'm sick of this mom." She said as her mother nodded.

"So am I, and hopefully if we're lucky, this will all come to an end." She said as Victoria looked at her.

"How are you so sure?" She asked.

"Because Remnant has been through worse times, while things may seem bleak now, we always managed to claw our way back into times of peace, so chin up, things won't always be like this, maybe one day we can even go home." She said as Victoria smiled.

"How long will it be? She asked hoping it would be soon.

"A day, a week, a month, you never know, but one thing is for sure, we'll go back home, you just have to have faith." She said as she hugged her daughter.

"Now lets get to sleep, we finished our work for the day, and I could really use some rest today." She said as she felt the bruises on her back from when she ran into Obsidian Iris.

Victoria told her that Vader had saved her daughter from Obsidian, and in a way she was grateful to him for that, but she still didn't want him anywhere near her daughter, dangerous men would only attract violence, as soon as this war was over, she was taking her daughter back to their cabin in the woods, and staying away from society. They had seen enough violence to last them a life time.

She just hoped they lived long enough to see better times.


	16. Infiltration

**Okay, So I got to work on this chapter as soon as I published the other chapter, since I'm on spring break, and the only thing I had to do today was go and vote, I have a lot of free time today.**

 **Reminder: RWBY watches darth arc challenge is still up, I did have someone take it, but then they changed their mind because they didn't think they could do it justice, which is understandable.**

 **Also a few people messaged me asking why Obsidian was still picking on Victoria and her mother despite Vader warning him, to put a long story short, he is a really big dumb ass prick.**

 **Also I know I have a problem with my chapters being rushed, but its hard not to, I just get so excited I can't resist, that and its hard to write more details about something when its something you don't have to put in much effort to describe. But I at least try to make all of my chapters above 2000 words at least.**

 **Here we go.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 16**

 **RWBY AND NPR**

Pyrrha was checking over her equipment over and over again on the ride on the bullhead. Her weapons were tuned to the point that they were in perfect condition, she had even had Ruby look them over to make sure that there was nothing wrong. She had also woken up early to prepare and loosen up as she knew that they were potentially running into a fight, especially since this wasn't any ice cream social, this was enemy infiltration.

"You realize when we land, you'll have to walk the rest of the way, I can't risk flying any closer until I know for a fact they don't have any eyes open looking for us." The pilot of the bullhead said as Qrow nodded.

"Don't worry, we'll take care of that. We'll give you a call when we have secured things." Qrow said as the bullhead landed.

"We got another fleet of bullheads, once you give us the signal, you better have those prisoners out and ready for transport, or else we're leaving you behind." The pilot said as Qrow nodded.

"Hey, its me." He said as the pilot sighed.

"That's what we're afraid of." The pilot said as the teams departed.

"Why are we wearing this stuff again?" Ren said as he was dressed in Queen's hound armor.

"Its an infiltration mission, hence we infiltrate." Qrow said as he put on the helmet.

"This is really uncomfortable." Yang said as she was having a hard time adjusting to her chest piece.

"Let's just get going, we have a friend to save." Ruby said as she donned her helmet.

"Wait, how did we get these sets of armor?" Weiss said as she knew that the Queen's hounds were incredibly hard to kill.

"Hey, just because the hounds are hard to kill doesn't mean that a few don't die with each battle, it just so happens there to be enough for eight people." Qrow said as he scratched his crotch.

"EW! There are young ladies here!" Weiss said as Qrow grunted at her.

"Yep...just like her sister alright." He said as they kept walking forward.

"So how do we know the real Queen's hounds won't know that we aren't real members?" Weiss asked her voice being muffled by the helmet.

"Based on what we know, if they don't see your face, they don't assume you're anything other than a member, add that in to the fact that our scent should be masked by the chumps we took this armor off of. We should be fine." Qrow said as Ren looked at him.

"We should be?" He asked as Qrow shrugged his shoulders.

"Hey, we had to come up with something to make this mission easier, just be thankful we aren't taking in Miss Nikos there as a prisoner." He said as Pyrrha looked at him.

"Why me?" She asked as Qrow looked over at her.

"Obviously Cinder is pissed at you, obviously she wants to hurt you, and who knows what else she would do when she gets her hands on you, if anything bringing you in as a hostage would work better, but there is no way we can risk them killing you there on the spot." Qrow said as Pyrrha shuddered.

"Your concern for my well being is touching." She said as Qrow scoffed.

"I'm old and drunk, I'm running low on ideas." He said as they continued their walk.

Besides a few squirrels running between the trees and a few leaves falling in front of them, the walk there was pretty quiet and uneventful, although Nora occasionally ran into a tree since in her own words, Her helmet was defective. Although to be honest, they all felt like the helmet impaired their vision. In what world was it practical to have only two small spots for your eyes to look through make sense? Already they were thinking of ways they could improve the helmet, as the look now just seemed impractical. And yet somehow the Queen's hounds still managed to kick ass. If they were as visually impaired as the two teams felt, then they really were impressive.

Soon enough they were out of the forest, and into the more rocky terrain, it was then they had to follow Blake, as she was the only one who had been here before, therefore she was the default navigator. They had to climb up rocks, boulders, rough ledges, avoid a rock slide. Basically it felt like the mountain was trying to kill them. Add that onto the fact that they passed a very large bog where they could have sworn they saw some mutant fish/alligator thing, the whole trip was miserable.

But that was to be expected, after all this was their first mission spying on the enemy. Qrow may have been right at home, but Team RWBY and NPR were front line fighters, they were not spies. So this was new territory for them.

"Wait." Blake said as she walked up to an edge.

She felt around for a bit before she suddenly grasped thin air, or at least that was what it looked like to them, they were however surprised when she seemed to climb up said thin air.

"You guys coming?" She said as they shook themselves back to reality and walked up to where she had climbed up to.

And while they couldn't see it from their angle, there was a camouflaged rope ladder hanging right there in front of them. You would have never known it was there if you didn't have information beforehand leading you to it. Come to think of it, how would anyone know it was there if it was so well camouflaged? Nora wondered how many incidents there had been when people couldn't find the rope at all.

"So how far is this entrance?" Ruby asked as they all climbed on the ledge.

"Right here." Blake said pointing to a hatch in a rock.

"That's kind of conspicuous don't you think?" Pyrrha asked wondering why the entrance was so obvious.

"I think its because they never expect anyone to make it this far. Especially with the Nemean Grimm roaming about." She said as they all looked at her.

"There are Nemeans here?!" They all yelled as they knew that was a dangerous Grimm, even more dangerous than the Nevermore.

"Yep." She said as she opened the hatch.

"And you didn't tell us this why?!" Yang asked a little pissed off.

"I didn't want any of you to worry even more than you already are." Blake said as she went down the manhole.

"When this is over, I'm beating your ass Kitty Cat." Yang said as she followed her partner down the entrance.

The way down was irritating, as the moisture gathering in the chamber caused the ladder to be a little slick. Luckily the armored gloves they were wearing had good grips, so they rarely lost their grip. Still though, they couldn't help but feel nervous at the fact that they were descending into what could be described as hell. Especially if those data tapes turned out to be true, then this place really was hell for the prisoners. Soon enough the two teams found their way down on the ground, luckily this was in an isolated area of the base, so they were not going to run into soldiers in this area.

"Okay Teams here's what we're going to do." Qrow said as they crouched behind a crate.

"Ruby you take your team and head to the main terminal, Blake can get access there and probably download more information that could help the resistance, along the way I want you to plant these charges in key areas of the base, these won't cause it to collapse in, but it should do significant damage to the point that they will be reeling from it for a long time, especially if you plant them anywhere near the Hound's quarters." He said as he handed a pack of explosives to Ruby's team.

"Pyrrha, you take your team and head towards the prison cells, take these." He said as he handed them a few charges.

"These are flares that will burn hot enough to melt any lock system those cells or slave quarters may have, release as many people as you can and begin evacuating them to the pickup point." Qrow said as Pyrrha took the flares.

"Anything else?" She asked as he nodded.

"Yeah save your boyfriend and don't get caught." He said making her blush a bit.

"And what are you doing to do Uncle Qrow?" Yang and Ruby asked at the same time.

"Well, you'll find out." He said as he walked off making sure he was dressed in the armor.

* * *

 **TEAM RWBY**

"Well come on Team, we better get to it." Ruby said as they walked off.

The armor would keep them covered, so they didn't need to worry about sneaking around, and add that onto the fact that everyone was carrying weapons, it didn't seem odd that they were carrying charges. If anything they really blended into the crowd. Except for the occasional walking into a wall, which in that case, they always prayed that no one was around to ask questions or wonder why an elite soldier had carelessly walked into a wall. That would immediately cause suspicion.

"How does anyone find anything in this place? It's huge!" Yang said as Blake was leading the way.

"Trust me, last time I was here, it was like I was playing a Legend of Remnant game and I couldn't find any hidden keys." Blake said as she had to remember what she had found last time she was in here.

Truth was that while she had a map of the base, a map would do you no good if you couldn't follow the blueprints. Blake luckily had figured out a basic pathway throughout this place, but still didn't mean it was a zoo, of course this time she didn't have to worry about being chased by any of the hounds. In a way she was thankful for the armor, even if the helmet was a little uncomfortable on her cat ears. It did help mask her identity.

As they walked further and further, Ruby suddenly stopped and walked into a certain room, with her team behind her. They suddenly had a huge moment of shock.

"Oh." Ruby started.

"My." Weiss continued.

"Freaking." Yang said.

"God." Blake finished.

They knew this place was heavily fortified and armed to the teeth. But the room they now stood in, while only a fraction of the base was stock full of weapons. If they were anywhere else, Ruby would have had stars in her eyes. But since they were on a mission, she had to contain herself. Yang in the meanwhile was already setting charges.

"How could they possibly have this many weapons?" Weiss asked as she recognized a good number of them being created by the Schnee Dust Company as part of their weapons research division that worked with Atlas.

"Whoever is behind all this, they have been planning this for a long time." Blake said as she set a charge.

"I almost feel bad destroying all these." Ruby said as she looked around.

"But you know that if we don't, these could hurt a lot of people." Yang said as Ruby sighed.

"When are we going to stop doing this to each other?" Ruby asked as she placed a charge.

After they had finished placing enough charges to bury this place and destroy the weapons, they did a count of the charges they still had left and left the armory in order to continue on their mission.

"Where to next Blake?" Yang asked as Blake looked at her map.

"Well next is the terminal con-" She was cut off by another voice.

"You four!" They heard a voice yell out as they turned around to see a pissed off looking officer guy.

"I sent for a group of hounds hours ago, where the hell have you been?" He yelled as they looked at the name on his chest lapel.

 _"O. Iris."_ Was what it read.

"Sorry Sir, there was a disturbance in the uh, Commissary." Ruby said as the man sneered.

"In the kitchen? What could possibly have happened in the kitchen?!" He yelled as Weiss whispered to Ruby.

 _"The commissary? Really?!"_ She said as Ruby whispered back.

 _"I panicked! Sue me!"_ She said as the man shoved something into her hand.

"Whatever, just deliver this to the information center, and try to make it quick." He said as she looked at it.

"What is it?" She asked as the man just glared at her again.

"Good grief! Do I have to explain everything slowly to you mutts?! Its intel on the base and our proceedings, now go and deliver it before I report you for insubordination!" Obsidian said as he walked away.

"Of course Sir! Absolutely!" Ruby said as Yang was very tempted to shoot him right now.

"What a dick, no wonder that Vader guy seemed so pissed off all the time." Yang said as she couldn't activate her gauntlets while wearing the armor, so all she had was the rifle.

"Whatever, we should be thanking that guy, he practically just gave us what we needed." Blake said as she held up the data stick.

"True, but we should probably make our way there to avoid suspicion." Ruby said as the others nodded.

"Agreed." Weiss said as they got back to work.

Overall, this was working out pretty well for them.

* * *

 **TEAM NPR**

Finding their way down to the prisoner containment unit had been easy enough, as it turns out it was the least heavily guarded due to the fact that no one was deemed dangerous enough to escape. Still though, when they got to the area, it was in horrible condition, lousy beds, people obviously suffering from being malnourished, as well as some people showing signs of sickness. Overall, this showed all the signs of this base being part labor camp.

"What have they done?" Pyrrha asked as she went by some of the cages.

"Please...help..." A child said as Pyrrha took a flare.

"Hang on." She said as she used it to melt the lock.

"Ren take this and get started on the others, Nora, hand me some water." She said as she took the child in her arms.

"Here, drink this." She said as the child took the bottle greedily.

"W-Why is a hound helping me?" He asked looking at the armored figure.

"Oh, you mean the uniform." She said as she took the helmet off, and the boys eyes lit up in recognition.

"You-You're Pyrrha Nikos!" He said with a big smile.

"And I'm here to help." She said as Ren was unlocking other cages, and luckily some of the prisoners were strong enough to walk.

"How? We can't go out the way you came, they'll put us back." The kid said as Ren spoke up.

"There's another way...but you may not like it." He said as one of the other prisoners spoke up.

"We've been sitting here starving for months being forced to work under those tyrants, at this point we will walk through a river of shit to get out of here." He said as the other prisoners agree.

"Well...you're going to have to." Ren said as he looked at a sewer hatch.

"Oh, well...that's ironic." The man said as Pyrrha came over to him.

"But first, you need to tell me something." She said as she held out a photo.

"Have you seen this man, he was a prisoner here just like you." She said as the man looked at the photo.

"That kid? Yeah I remember him, he was in the cell over there, away from everyone else, I don't know, we never saw much of him." He said as Pyrrha immediately left and ran over to the cell.

"Jaune?" She asked as she tried to look into the cell, but all she saw was darkness.

Her hands were shaking as she reached for a flare. She couldn't believe it, this was it, she was finally going to see him again. This was happening. Every second it took for the lock to melt felt like eternity. All the things she wanted to say, and she was finally going to get a chance to say them. The lock finally melted through after what felt like hours. And she swung the door open and ran into the cell.

"Jaune!" She said as she reached for the man on the cot.

Only...there was no man on the cot. It was empty. Her heart sunk into her stomach as she brought out a flashlight, and sure enough, nothing, no man, no sign of food, no sign that anyone had been here, but worst of all, no Jaune.

"No..no no no no no no no no NO!" She said as she couldn't believe this!

"Pyrrha?" Nora asked as she walked over.

"He's not here! Jaune's not here!" She almost yelled even though she had to keep her voice down.

"You won't find him there." They heard a voice call out as they turned around.

"Professor Ozpin?!" Nora nearly yelled as she saw he man looking worse for wear.

"Good Afternoon Students." He said as he collapsed in front of them.

"Professor!" Nora yelled as she caught him.

"Ren! Get those prisoners into the drain, we have to hurry up and get out of here!" Nora yelled as she went to get Pyrrha.

"No! I'm not leaving without Jaune!" She said as Nora looked at her.

"Pyrrha! We have to stick to the plan!" Nora said as Pyrrha turned to her.

"They couldn't have taken him far! I'll find him!" She said as she put her helmet back on and

* * *

 **QROW**

Something was off, I hadn't encountered anything yet, hell even walking through this base didn't seem to be a challenge. I knew we had time before anyone figured out we were here, but this just seemed far too easy. He had scoped out the area trying to find anything that could be of use and sending messages to Ironwood as to what they had, and what could be used to fight against them.

Right now he was sending the schematics of the armor the Queen's hound wore so Ironwood could take a closer look at it, overall the armor was advanced and could definitely be used to advance the Atlesian ground troops, but the armor was not without flaws, for example, Qrow REALLY hated this helmet, while it certainly looked cool, those two damn eye ports were so small you could barely see anything out of them, seriously and their soldiers were sharpshooters in these things, how the hell did they do it?

"So far all I've done is plant bombs and knocked out a few guards. This shouldn't be this easy." He said as he opened the door to another room.

"What the?" He said as he walked into a room filled with giant monitors.

"Damn, this just keeps getting weirder and weirder.

He walked over the the monitors, and sure enough they were playing security feed, yet there was no one in the room to monitor them, must have been because of Blake's friend on the inside. Whoever he or she was, seems like they had done a little more than rewire the footage to cover up their infiltration. But the monitors were now playing security footage that was current. So he could see his nieces planting bombs and gathering information, but the biggest shock came from the prison section.

Sure they were evacuating prisoners, but it was Pyrrha who was the most surprising, she kept looking for Jaune with a panicked look in her eyes.

"Why does she look so panicked? He's right there." Qrow said pointing to the cot of the cell she just left.

At first he thought she was just getting Nora to help her move in, but it just made less sense as time went on, and Nora left with the prisoners down the sewer pipe, which was disgusting by the way. And Pyrrha left to go search for Jaune.

"You stupid girl, he's right there! How can you not...see that?" He said as he suddenly took a look at the monitor again.

All of a sudden he noticed something strange, yes it was playing the security footage over the same area, in fact he could see that Jaune's body was twitching and moving in the exact same way over and over again for the past few minutes. It was then Qrow realized something.

"It's a Trap!" He yelled as he turned around to leave the room.

Just in time for alarms to go off all over the base.


	17. Escape (Rushed Filler)

**Okay, Here I go again. Honestly this chapter sucks, I was rushing it because I wanted to get to the main point of the story, so this one is incredibly rushed, clunky, and honestly the chapter I dislike the most. But they will get better after this one. I know thats for sure.**

 **Anyways, some of the details may not make sense, but all will be explained eventually.**

* * *

 **RWBY**

 _"All Units Mobilize! Report to prisoner chamber!"_ A voice rang out over the speaker as a couple of Queen's hounds grabbed Team RWBY.

"You heard them! Lock and load!" He said as he pulled the team aside.

"Whats going on?!" Ruby asked one of the hounds.

"Intruders! Three of them!" He yelled back as they fell into formation.

"Hey guys, the armor works, they think we're one of them!" Yang said as they all ran with the group.

"Yeah, but something tells me Pyrrha and her group weren't so lucky." Weiss said as they were suddenly worried for their sister team.

What could have gone wrong? They still had roughly ten minutes to get in and get out. RWBY had finished their work fairly quickly, luckily that Obsidian guy didn't realize just how badly he messed up and they managed to get away with more Intel then they could possibly imagine. It had been rather easy, but they would admit, it was hard to ignore the numerous amounts of slaves that were being used to keep the base operational.

For Weiss it was hard to look around, because she was reminded that the Schnee Dust Company had been known for using controversial labor forces or buying out mines that had been known to use slave labor. It was one of the things she really hated about her name, because everyone tended to judge her based on the actions of the executives of the company, and while she loved her father, she took a vow that she would never be like him.

For Blake, she had been reminded of the injustice that her people had suffered, but this was something different, this wasn't simply a small group of humans working to enslave the faunus, this was a small group enslaving both humans and faunus, which meant that these people really had to be messed up in order to enslave their own people. To think that there was someone worse than the many groups she had fought against in the past, it left an uneasy feeling in her stomach.

For Ruby, this was adding on to the list of things she had hope to never see. She always wanted to be a hero, but she never realized what that would entail. The things that were never told in fairy tales was how the Hero often had to go through some horrifying circumstances and survive each and every one of them. Sometimes the hero would have to make a hard choice for the greater good. It showed her that there was a dark side (Eh?) to being a hero.

And for Yang, her thoughts were the same as Ruby, but right now the only thing she was focused on was just trying to make sure they didn't get caught. And she was hoping that NPR got the hostages out before they were caught.

"Set weapons for stun! Our orders are to take them alive!" The lead hound said as everyone switched their weapons over to stun gun mode.

Ruby and the others gripped the rifles they had stolen from the armory, there was about thirty other soldiers here. And something told them that they were going to have to use them very soon. Hopefully it wouldn't be as bad as it looks.

 _"Ruby! It was all a trap! I got the observation tower shut down! We need to evacuate immediately!"_ Qrow's voice yelled over the com link.

"A trap? For who?" She asked as Qrow yelled again.

 _"For Pyrrha! They're after Pyrrha!"_ He said as they suddenly heard gunshots.

"UNCLE QROW! ARE YOU OKAY?!" Yang yelled over the communicator.

 _"Got to go to work kids! I'll meet you at the checkpoint, just get your friends and go! And be ready to blow those charges!"_ He yelled as they heard the sound of his scythe unfurling.

 _"Come on! Lets see what you punks got!"_ He yelled as they heard him charge into battle.

They better hurry, otherwise NPR could be in big trouble. Or JNPR could be in trouble if they really did find Jaune.

* * *

 **PYRRHA AND REN**

"Nora's leading the prisoners through the sewer! Pyrrha we have to go now!" He yelled as Pyrrha was ripping the doors off of cages.

"I'm not leaving without Jaune!" She yelled as she couldn't find him anywhere.

"Pyrrha! They laid a trap for us! They would have moved him somewhere else by now! We have to go!" He yelled as they heard the door open.

"Lay down your weapons!" The Queen's hound leader said as they turned to look at him.

"Shit." Ren said as he noticed all the guns on him.

"I said lay down your weapons!" He yelled again but Pyrrha glared at him.

"No." She said as the man just snarled at her.

"I said lay them down! Unless you got a death wish!" He yelled as Pyrrha grunted.

"You obviously have those set to stun, you wouldn't have bothered to lay this trap if you meant to kill us." She said as she took a step forward.

"You don't know what we will do!" The hound barked.

"Well you know what I do know?" She asked in a dark tone.

"I came here looking for someone, only to find out that it was all a trick, you gave me hope, and then you took it away, and thats enough to make anyone dangerous." She said as they heard metal creaking.

"WHY DON'T I SHOW YOU WHAT IT WILL DO TO ME!" She yelled as suddenly the hounds felt an immense pressure.

You see the one thing they had neglected to remember, was that their armor while tough, was still made out of metal. A very bad choice of material. It enable Pyrrha to fight back. As if by magic, without even moving her hands, a few Queen's hounds found themselves smashed into the walls over and over again, until you could see blood start to leak out onto their armor. If that wasn't enough, all of their weapons were soon crushed into small hunks of metal by her sheer rage.

The soldiers tried to fire, but they couldn't. They were being smothered by raw power and anger. At this point, Pyrrha was not herself, in taking away one of the things that meant the most to her in this world, they had unknowingly unlocked a rage almost as powerful as Lord Vaders.

"WHERE IS HE?!" She yelled as she brought a trooper to her face.

"G-Go to hell!" He yelled as she punched him THROUGH his armor.

"WHERE IS JAUNE?!" She yelled again, she was in no mood to play games.

"GONE!" He yelled as Pyrrha was about to take another swing but Ren stopped her.

"PYRRHA! THATS ENOUGH!" He yelled as Pyrrha looked at her team mate.

"He knows where Jaune is! He's lying!" She yelled as Ren looked at her dead in the eyes.

"LOOK WHAT YOU DID!" He said as he forced her to turn her head.

And her face of rage was soon replaced by a look of horror. Suddenly she realized what she had done, and looked down at her own hands, and while they remained clean, all she could think of was the blood she had just spilt. They were the enemy alright, but the mess of twisted limbs and crushed corpses due to the sheer force of her forcing the armor to collapse in on themselves really showed how one could be pushed to kill by any means necessary.

"I...I did this?" She said as Ren nodded.

"Pyrrha, you need to calm down, they want you to lose focus." He said as he tried to help her.

"We need to get out of here, they're coming here now." He said as he was leading her towards the sewer.

"What about Jaune?" She asked still not letting him go.

"We'll come back for him, I promise." He said as they suddenly heard a voice.

"Damn, you really did a number here." They turned to see three more Queen's hounds.

"Crap!" Ren said as he pointed his weapons at them.

"Now calm down there Sonny! We're friends of Blake!" He said as Ren lowered his weapons a little.

"Wait...really?" He asked as even Pyrrha looked surprised.

"Who do you think helped her escape last time?" He said as the three removed their helmets.

"I'm Commander Wolfe, this is Commander Gregor, and Commander Rex." He said as the three introduced themselves.

"But...I thought the Queen's hounds were brainwashed mindless beasts?" He asked as Wolfe shook his head.

"Not all, we planted ourselves here, we used to be spies for Atlas, gathering information about the White Fang, it helped that we were faunus and could easily indoctrinate ourselves into their group, and then we got word of this whole Queen's hound group, and we knew this was going to be a even bigger threat." He said as they stepped forward.

"It wasn't easy keeping that act for long, I'm surprised they didn't catch us." Wolfe said as Pyrrha asked a question.

"How can you help us?" She asked as Gregor laughed.

"Ha! Miss, we have been among the Hound's for months know, we know how they fight, what weapons and tactics they use, and the most important thing is that we had the same training programmed into our heads as they do, if anything, we can help train new soldiers to even the odds in this war. Now what do you say we get out of here?" Gregor said as the two nodded.

"What about Jaune Arc? Do you know what happened to him?" Pyrrha asked as she really needed to know.

"Jaune Arc...sorry the name doesn't ring a bell, most be one of those higher profile prisoners, the only person who would know that would be Darth Vader or Cinder or the woman who leads them." He said as Pyrrha came up to him.

"Who leads them?" She asked as Rex shook his head.

"We don't know that either, she hides in the shadows, all we know is that she makes Vader look like a kitten at times." Rex said as Ren shivered at that.

He remembered how they first encountered Vader, he was radiating nothing but anger and hate. And to think there was somebody worse than that. Whoever it was, he did not want to meet them.

"Look, I know he must be your friend, but let me tell you this now, if you don't escape now, you will regret it." He said as they suddenly heard a scream.

"SSHHHHIIITTT!" Qrow screamed as he was thrown into the room, all battered and bruised.

"QROW!" Pyrrha yelled as the three Commanders looked over and panicked.

"That's our cue to leave!" They said as they grabbed Qrow and Ren and jumped down the sewer drain.

"HEY!" Qrow yelled as he was not used to being manhandled.

Pyrrha on the other hand had turned around to see what had caused Qrow to be thrown into the room. And here eyes widened in fear at the very familar sight.

"Well well, Miss Nikos, we meet again at last." Vader said as he walked forward with his sword drawn.

"It's you, the black knight, the one they call Darth Vader." She said as Vader walked closer.

"I find the black knight to be a bit frivolous myself." He said as he stopped in front of her.

"Where is Jaune?" She asked as she couldn't read Vader's face due to the fact it was covered.

"Ah, your leader, well, if you want to find that out, You'll have to fight me." He said as he lifted his sword.

"Won't have to!" She said channeling her semblance and lifting her hands to crush him.

Only for it to have no effect.

Pyrrha panicked, and tried again, it wasn't working! But she could sense the metal in his armor! She could even tell that his limbs were not completely human, how could she not crush him like she did with the Hounds?!

"Miss Nikos, you are so foolish, your magnetism may be powerful, but Telekinesis beats magnetism each time." Vader said as he was channeling a powerful telekinetic field to protect him specifically from Pyrrha's semblance.

"If you want to fight me, it will be in pure combat." He said as he pointed his sword at her again.

"And how do I know you won't just kill me with your mind?" She asked as Vader grunted.

"I may be a killer, but even I have a code of honor." He said as he was waiting for her to draw her weapon.

"YOU STUPID GIRL! COME ON!" Wolfe said as he Grabbed Pyrrha's legs from below and pulled her down with them.

"..." Was Vader's response.

"So, Wolfe has betrayed me." He said as he walked over to the manhole they had escaped out of.

"No matter, she'll be back. After all, if what I saw on that tape was any hint, she obviously cares for the boy a lot." Vader said as he turned around to go and see Salem.

It was time they ironed out the details of their plan to capture Pyrrha for good.

* * *

 **OUTSIDE NEAR THE CHECKPOINT**

"COME ON! COME ON! COME ON! GET ON THE BULLHEADS!" Nora yelled at the prisoners as she helped multiple people get on.

"Bless you Miss! Bless you!" An elderly woman said as she clambered aboard the ship.

"Thank me when we get out of here!" Nora yelled as she was waiting for her team.

"Nora!" Ruby yelled out as his team ran towards them.

"Ruby! Have you seen Pyrrha and Ren?" She asked as they shook their heads.

"No! They said they exited out through the sewer, but we haven't seen them yet." She said as she looked over Nora's shoulder.

"Wait a minute, is that-" She said pointing to the silver haired man behind her.

"Yeah, its Professor Ozpin." She said as Ruby walked over.

"He looks really bad." She said noticing how there was blood in his hair.

"Whoever did this to him was really trying to hurt him." Nora said as Ozpin groaned.

"HEEEEYYY!" They heard a voice out as they saw Qrow being carried by...oh no!

"Queen's Hound!" Nora said as she prepared Magnhild.

"No Nora! They're with us!" Ren said as he stopped his girlfriend from killing them.

"huh? What?! THAT MAKES NO SENSE!" She screamed out as this day got crazier.

"No its okay, these are my friends on the inside." Blake said as Ruby ran over to Qrow.

"Who did this to him?" She asked as Qrow hissed at the contact.

"Ow! Damn Ruby, watch the ribs." He said as she backed up.

"Sorry!" She said as Qrow was being helped onto the chopper.

"I'll tell you one thing, that Vader guy, he's no pushover, he's the real deal." Qrow said as even he had a hard time fending off the bloodthirsty cyborg.

"Why did you take me from him?" Pyrrha said as she had Wolfe pinned against the bullhead.

"You don't understand Missy, this isn't some Grimm or some tournament, this is a certified killer!" He said referring to Vader.

"I served as his commander, the man has no sense of mercy, he is a brilliant Tactician and killer, I did you a favor by not letting you face him." He said as she slammed him against the bullhead again.

"I could have taken him!" She said as Wolfe sighed.

"Miss, do yourself a favor and listen to me, you can't beat him." He said as she turned around.

"I can and I will." She said as all of a sudden she felt something hit her on the back of her head.

"UNCLE QROW!" Ruby yelled as he got an innocent look on her face.

"Hey, your friend wasn't in his cell, and she was pissed off, trust me you make very bad decisions when you're pissed off...or drunk...or pissed off and drunk." He said as he took a swig from his flask.

"Are you seriously drinking right now?" Ozpin said in a daze.

"Damn, even when he's mostly unconscious, he still critcizes me on my drinking habits." Qrow said as he put the flask away.

"EVERYONE! WE REALLY NEED TO GET OUR OF HERE!" Wolfe said as everyone clambered on board, or in Pyrrha's case, carried on board.

Soon enough, the fleet was taking off. And yet, there was only one figure watching in the distance.

"Lord Vader, why aren't we stopping them?" A private asked.

"Simple, we know they will be back." He said as another one spoke up.

"How can you be so sure?" Another said as he looked back at them.

"Because, we have something they want." He said as he turned around and walked back into the base.


	18. Keeping It Together

**Okay, so here is the chapter I really wanted to write, well here we go. Well, three chapters in one day...Not bad. Also sorry for the sometimes over use of ellipses, it happens occasionally.**

* * *

 **BACK AT BASE**

Ozpin woke up to find himself in a hospital bed. He felt around on a nightstand for his glasses. When he finallly managed to find them, he took notice that he was attached to an IV line, and there was a rather large group of people surrounding his bed. Including Team RWBY, NPR, James, Glynda, and Qrow. Well actually Qrow was in the bed next to him passed out with a whiskey flask. Although something tells him he wasn't in the bed due to injuries, and was actually just drunk again.

"Welcome back Oz." Ironwood said as Ozpin took note of his surroundings.

"How do you feel?" Glynda asked as Ozpin sat up.

"Old." He replied.

"We found the seal on you limiting your aura, we weren't able to remove it fully, but we did manage to tweak it a bit so you have enough that you could put up a fairly decent fight."Ironwood said as Ozpin just grunted in relief.

"What about the prisoners? What happened to them?" He asked as Ren spoke up.

"We got all the people in that cell block out, but there were numerous cell blocks in the base, we couldn't possibly get to them all." Ren said as Ruby spoke up.

"We also detonated a few charges in their armory, information center, and barracks, it may not stop them, but it will slow them down." She said as Pyrrha remained quiet.

"Qrow's got your cane, so after you get out of here, it will be waiting for you." James said as Ozpin tried to stand up.

"I'm ready to go now." He said as they suddenly heard the door open.

"MR. OZPIN!" He turned to see a red haired missile suddenly knock him back onto his bed.

"OHMYITHOUGHTYOUWEREDEAD! ANDNOONEWOULDTELLMEWHATWASIWRONGANDMOMMYANDIWERESOWORRIED!" Victoria shouted out really quickly as Ozpin patted her head.

"Uhm, yes, there there." He said as Victoria's mother walked in.

"She wouldn't stop talking about you until you woke up." She said as she walked over to Ironwood.

"And I suppose we have you to thank for getting us out of there?" She said with a smile as Ironwood coughed into his hand.

"Uhm, yes, well technically we all played a part in this operation." He said as she smiled and gave him a hug.

"Still thank you either way General." She said as she released him and proceeded to hug everyone else in the room.

"Well well Jimmy, look who is getting all flustered." Qrow said as he woke up and Ironwood did a facepalm.

"Why is it every time I go through something embarrassing, you are always around." He said to himself.

"I'm like a bad fever, you just can't get rid of me." He said as he looked over at Ozpin.

"So Ozzy, bet this is better than your stay at the crazy bitch hotel." He said as Ozpin sighed.

"That it is, but I do wish you wouldn't swear in front of Victoria." He said as Qrow suddenly felt something slap him on the back of the head.

"Ow! Hey what the f-" He suddenly stopped at the sight of Victoria's mother giving him a death glare while holding a shoe.

"You were saying?" She said with a sickly sweet tone.

"Uhm...Fudge?" He said as she smiled and walked away.

 _"Who the hell hits people with a shoe?"_ He thought as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Where is he Oz?" Pyrrha asked from the back.

"I'm sorry Miss Nikos?" He asked her.

"Where is Jaune...you were held in that same prison, where is Jaune?" She said as she looked depressed.

"I'm sorry Miss Nikos, but-" He started but she walked over.

"Just tell me." She said as she was sick of not getting any answers.

"Maybe later." He said as Pyrrha slammed her hand down on a table.

"Please..." She said as she looked at him with a broken look.

"Just tell me." She said as Ozpin sighed and wiped his glasses clean.

 _"Please Forgive me."_ He said as he put his glasses back on.

"I'm sorry Miss Nikos, Jaune was killed...by Darth Vader." He sighed as the room went deathly quiet.

All around, the two teams felt tears welling up again, Ruby hugged Yang close as her big sister tried to comfort her while shedding tears of her own. Weiss couldn't believe it, they had just gotten news that he was alive, only to find out he was killed by the same monster who nearly killed them. Blake leaned against a wall, not believing that they had once again failed to save a friend. Nora collapsed on the ground as Ren tried to soothe her, but at the same time failing to contain his own sadness, so the couple could only cry in each other's arms trying to get rid of the pain in their hearts.

But Pyrrha...Pyrrha was the worst. She stumbled backwards away from Ozpin and fell on her butt. The tears already streaming down her face as she shook her head trying to deny what he had just said. It couldn't be! She had just found out he was alive again, and now he was already taken away from her? She was finally going to tell him, she was going to have her happy ending. And all of a sudden, it had all been ripped away from her again.

"No...No...NO!" She yelled as Ozpin looked at her with pity.

"I'm sorry Miss Nikos..." He said trying to keep his own guilt from showing.

"Not again...Not again." She said as she stood up and ran off.

"Pyrrha!" Ruby tried to cry out, but she couldn't as all that came out were sobs and cries.

The atmosphere of the room had completely changed, what had once been a moment of reunion, was ruined by the fact that once again, they had failed to save a friend who they thought was dead. Why? Why did this keep happening? Why couldn't they catch a break for once? Why must they suffer? Even Glynda was having a hard time keeping her composure. Qrow merely drank the slight sadness he felt, he didn't know the kid that well, but to hear about a loved one passing, it didn't mean he couldn't feel genuinely sad for his nieces.

Ironwood while keeping his resolve, was torn on the inside. Once again, he didn't know Jaune that well if at all. But the one thing Ironwood never told anyone, was that he cared about each and everyone of his troops, from the lowest ranked private to the highest ranked General, whoever was under his command was his family. And he remembered how he had met Jaune before during the evacuation of Vale. A bit on the foolish side, but brave enough to stay and fight Grimm so that others may live. And when he found out that he had sacrificed himself so that Miss Nikos would live, he had actually put in a request for a Medal of Bravery to be sent to his family. It was the least he could do after he died.

To sacrifice yourself so that others may live, was something that Ironwood would always honor, even if those around him never knew what he was really thinking. He wasn't heartless, but he had to keep up the facade so as to never look weak in difficult times. Even Glynda and Qrow had a hard time seeing that, but Ozpin could always see right through him. Which is probably why Ozpin had always been calm when the other two in their group would be furious at him. Because no matter how hard he tried to hide it, he couldn't hide anything from Ozpin.

Team RWBY and NPR left the room shortly after, returning to their own quarters.

"I remember how I wished they would be more serious about taking their roles as protectors seriously, but I wouldn't wish what they were going through on my worst enemies." She said as she wiped a single tear from her right eye.

Even the hard headed authoritarian was human, a much different person from her strict demeanor as a school teacher.

"Seems like with every bit of good news we get, there's a truckload of bad news waiting to come forth." Ironwood said as he took a drink.

"Come on, you two don't actually believe that." Qrow said as they immediately turned to him.

"Have you no respect for the dead you drunken fool!" Ironwood said in a rare display of anger.

"How can you say that?!" Glynda said gripping her riding crop.

"Because Ozpin was lying." He said as they looked confused.

"What? Come on, I know I'm a drunk, but a fool isn't one of them, I've known Oz long enough to know when he's lying." He said as he turned to said man.

"Ain't that right Oz?" He asked as Ozpin sighed.

"Yes, I was lying, but trust me, its better this way." He said as suddenly Ironwood turned his anger to his other friend.

"How can you say that?! They have a right to know their friend is alive!" He said as he clenched his gloved hand.

"James, if you knew what I knew, you would agree that if they knew the truth, they would be more broken than they are now." He said as Glynda spoke up.

"What could possibly be so bad that it breaks them more than finding out their best friend, or in Miss Nikos's case lover is actually dead?" She asked as Qrow spoke up.

"Uh, actually I don't think they sealed the deal." He said as both Ironwood and Goodwitch turned to him.

"Shut up Qrow." They said in unison.

"Jaune isn't the same person anymore, he has become something, something else." He said as Ironwood looked at Oz with a glare.

"Just spit it out already Ozpin! Your cryptic way of talking is not helping!" He said as Ozpin took a sip of the water that had been left on his bedside table.

"If I tell you, I cannot untell you." He said as Glydna spoke up once again.

"We can handle it." She said as Ozpin stood up from the bed to look them all in the eyes.

"No, No you can't. I can barely accept it." He said as he took his cane from Qrow.

"Accept what?" Qrow asked as he was getting ready to take another drink.

"The truth that Jaune Arc is Darth Vader."

* * *

 **LATER**

Team RWBY plus Ren and Nora were in the mess hall. Pyrrha had immediately stormed to he room and locked herself in, not even letting Ren or Nora get through. That girl's heart was broken all over again. She was so close to seeing Jaune again, only to find out that they killed him before they got a chance.

"Damn it!" Yang yelled as she punched a wall.

"This is such bullshit!" She yelled as she punched the wall again.

"Why can't we ever catch a break!" Another punch.

"Yang please, not helping." Weiss said as she was rubbing Ruby's back.

"Why can't we seem to save the people we love?" Ruby asked as she had her head in her hands.

"Just one man, just one man, and we can't do it." Blake said as she had taken her bow off, not caring who saw it.

"Why did it have to be Jaune?" Nora asked.

"Jaune was probably one of happiest people around, and yet it seems like whatever Diety or force of nature was out to get him? Why, why did he need to die? What purpose did his death serve than to remind us that sometimes life isn't fair?" She asked as she was getting surprisingly dark.

"I...I wish I had an answer Nora, but to be honest, even I don't know what to say this time." Ren said as he was depressed that he couldn't say something to make it all go away.

"Is it a way for us to realize that to survive and enjoy our lives we have to lose someone close? No that can't be it." Weiss said as she was having the same thoughts as Nora.

"You know, maybe...maybe it's better this way." Blake said as everyone looked at her.

"What?" Ruby said weakly, not believing what she just said.

"Think about it, we all saw that footage of Jaune right? Tired, alone, starving, suffering, with no one there to help him or comfort him, he was all alone. But now, he's not, I don't know if he believed in an afterlife or not, but I hope he's there now, finally free from it all. In a way, it helps me realize that maybe death might have been a release for him." She said as everyone listened to her.

"Are you saying it's a good thing?" Yang asked a little angry.

"No, not at all, I think I'm just trying to think of a way to rationalize just what is happening." She said as Weiss stood up.

"I think we all know what the next best thing to do is." She said as everyone looked at her.

"We have to beat Cinder, Vader, the woman in the shadows, we have to beat them, not just for ourselves or for Jaune, but for the good of all man and faunus kind." She said as Ruby stood up.

"You're right, but how?" She said as Weiss turned to her.

"Come on Ruby, remember at initiation, who was it who came up with the plan to take down that Nevermore?" She asked as Ruby looked at her.

"Me." She said as she wasn't sure what Weiss was planning.

"And who was it who made us go after Blake, when even she didn't want to be found?" She asked as Ruby smiled again.

"Me." She said feeling a bit better.

"And who was it that kept a smile on her face even in the face of danger?" She asked as Ruby straightened her posture.

"Me." She said as she smiled.

"Thanks Weiss, I really needed that." She said as she looked towards everyone.

"Look guys, lets face it, this is a sad day indeed, we lost our good friend yet again. But we can't wallow in sadness forever, its like those books you read, all about how the heroes face adversity and sometimes get into situations where it all seems hopeless. But with enough determination, they break free of those situations, even when it all seems lost. And we wonder why? How could they possibly find the strength to go on when all they wanted to do was lay down and die? And then it just hit me, like those stories, we are all holding on to something, Blake, you're holding on to the fact that one day Faunus and Humans will stand united, Yang, you love adventure, but whenever someone needs help, you're always there to lend a hand, Weiss, you want to reform you company to make it better for everyone involved. As for me, it took someone reminding me just how I want to change the world, in fact, I was even gifted with this silver eyes power, and yet for so long I have been afraid to use it because of self doubt, because I couldn't save Jaune the first time around...I just became so afraid of using it." She said as she paused her speech.

(This Speech was slightly based off of Sam's Speech in The two towers)

"But now, I realize that with this power, I could use it to prevent what happened to us, to prevent anyone from going through what we went through again. Jaune may be gone, but if he was looking at us now, he would urge us to continue fighting, and that no matter how bad things get, you can always clean up the mess and make the world a better place." She said as she put her hand out.

"What do you guys say? Fight to make the world better again?" She said as everyone looked at her.

Then came Ren's hand, shortly followed by Nora's hand. And then soon her entire team.

"Good, but first thing we should do is go find Pyrrha, she probably needs out support now more than ever." Ruby said as they walked off.

While everyone was still sad, they felt much better after Ruby's speech. After all, when life hit you at your lowest point, you don't lay down and just let it kick you like a beat dog. No, when life knocks you down, you have twenty four hours to get drunk, get mad, start a fight, scream, whatever you need to do. But when those twenty four hours were up, it was time to take care of business, it was time to stop letting life make you its bitch. (Quote from my dad)

"Pyrrha?" They knocked on her door, but there was no answer.

"Pyrrha? Are you in there?" Nora asked as they opened the door.

"Oh no..." Ren said as they noticed Pyrrha was gone, as well as her weapons, and Crocea Mors.

"Where did she go?" Weiss asked as Ren found a note.

He scanned it over really quick before he started to panic.

"Oh no no no no no!" He screamed out as the others came up to him.

"What is it?" Yang asked.

"She's going off to fight Vader!"


	19. When All Hope Is Lost (Short)

**Okay, once again with another chapter that I started as soon as I published the last chapter. Trying to get a lot of work in before Spring break ends on Sunday.**

* * *

 **PYRRHA**

Pyrrha was pissed, no scratch that, she was way beyond pissed, she was furious. She finally got a chance to see Jaune again, and that bastard Vader took it away from her. She had a chance to fight him, she had a chance to beat him. And what did she do? She ran away, well technically Wolfe forced her to run, but she still ran away. But not anymore, she was sick of it, she had run away when Jaune had been taken from her on top of that tower. She had run away from Vader, for such a brave warrior, it was almost like she was running from all of her problems. But no more, she wasn't going to take this anymore. She couldn't sit by and watch as her friends were killed just like Jaune.

Vader, he did this, and he was going to pay. That she was sure of.

"Miss, I just want you to know, I do not feel comfortable doing this." The pilot said as he had been pretty much been shanghaied into doing this.

"It will all be over soon. She said as she took a look at Crocea Mors.

Once again she felt like she could feel a connection with the weapon, almost as if it was calling out for blood. But she shook her head of the thoughts, only thinking it was her own want for revenge that was getting to her. To be honest, she knew what she was doing was stupid, she knew Vader was powerful if the fact that he could rough up Qrow was any indication. But once again, she was being fueled by the need for revenge. Sometimes it could cloud your judgement.

"Miss, are you sure you want to do this?" The pilot asked as she nodded.

"Would I have let you fly this far if I didn't?" She asked as they were landing at the drop off point.

"Miss, I honestly think this is a bad idea." He said as she jumped off.

"I never said it was a good one." She said as she landed and ran off.

"Crap...we're going to need some help here." He said as he got on the radio.

 _"All units respond, Miss Nikos is running into enemy territory...Yes General I know I helped her, but she was really intimidating...I'm getting Latrine duty for this aren't I? *Sigh* Yes sir."_ Was pretty much the entire conversation.

"Why didn't I listen to my mother and go back to school?" He asked himself as he really hated getting latrine duty.

* * *

 **VADER**

"And you're certain of this?" Salem asked not believing Vader let her get away.

"I am certain, she still thinks we have Jaune Arc, whether he's alive or dead, she'll still want to bring him home." He said as Salem smirked.

"Well, then I suppose I can't hold that against you, but how are you going to capture her?" She asked walking around Vader.

"Simple, one on one combat, if I were to guess, Ironwood would not take such a risk that he would send a single person on a mission, so she will probably be coming alone." He said as Salem walked over to a painting on the wall.

"And while you may best her in combat, how do you plan on turning her?" She asked as Vader remained silent.

"That I am unsure of." He said as even he had to admit, ways to turn the huntress eluded him.

"Well, lucky for you, I have a very simple solution." She said as she walked over to him and placed a hand on his helmet.

"Mistress?" He asked as he saw a a slight glowing in her eyes.

And suddenly he felt a slight pain. He stepped back at the sudden assault of images in his mind. Images of the Nikos girl, images of her team mates, all of them except Jaune Arc, and he couldn't understand why, and then he realized it was because he was seeing them from Jaune Arc's eyes. How was that possible? He wasn't Jaune Arc, so why did he have his memories? It made no sense.

"What did you do to me?" He asked as he stood back up to his full height.

"I simply gave you another persons memories." She said as she sat back down on her throne.

"The memories of Jaune Arc?" He asked as she nodded.

"Yes, you see, Pyrrha was coming here to find her lost team mate, only to discover he wasn't where we had put him, obviously he's dead now, but say there was something else, something else that pointed to him being alive? Would it make her want to join us? Or would it break her to the point where she could be easily manipulated?" Salem said with a sadistic grin.

"You'll have to be more specific." Vader said as he was still reeling from the onslaught of memories.

"Come now, Lord Vader, I implanted those memories into your head for one reason only, we are going to tell her what happened to Jaune Arc, we are going to tell her the truth that YOU are Jaune Arc, or rather what remains of him." She said as Vader started to piece it together.

"You wish for me to lie to her?" He asked as she shook her head.

"No, she would be able to tell if you were lying, why do you think I gave you those memories?" She asked as Vader shrugged his shoulders.

"I gave you those memories because for all intent and purposes, you would believe you were once Jaune Arc, once she senses that there is no hint of dishonesty in your voice, well, there is no telling what she will do next." Salem said as Vader was starting to understand.

"So once again we are playing mind games." He said as he now saw what she wanted her to do.

"Yes." She said as Vader nodded.

"Very well, I will take my leave." He said as he left the chamber and Salem laughed.

 _"Oh this is just too easy! I simply unlocked some of his old memories and he thinks they belong to someone else! Besides the destruction to our base, everything seems to be going according to plan."_ She said as she suddenly got a call on the com link.

 _"Mistress! We have some bad news down here! That group from earlier stole highly sensitive information!"_ Cinder said as Salem suddenly had a spark of anger course through her.

"How is that possible? We increased security protocols in our systems ever since the first break in." She said as Cinder coughed.

 _"Uhm, it appears one of our own may have inadvertently given the intruders not only the information they needed, but also a way to get through the firewall."_ Cinder said as Salem snarled.

"Who was it?!" She asked wondering who could have been so stupid.

 _"Obsidian Iris."_ Cinder said as Salem suddenly smashed down on the com link.

Obsidian Iris, that no good smuggler! At first she liked him simply because he was the scum of the earth who could get his hands on anything, but now she discovered that he had willingly given sensitive intel over to the enemy! She didn't care how useful he was, this was unacceptable, who knows what they could find in that Intel, it could very well mean that her enemies could have not only advanced knowledge on her base, but also the advanced research projects that they had going on here. To say Salem was pissed was an understatement.

Ozpin was pissed when Ironwood brought his army, Winter Schnee was pissed when Qrow mocked her and Atlas, Pyrrha Nikos was pissed that Jaune Arc was missing from his cell, no this wasn't as simple as being pissed off. The only word that could fit how Salem felt right now was pure unadulterated vexation.

"Please send Obsidian to my chambers." She said as you could see her eyes glowing with power.

* * *

 **LATER**

Vader was waiting, he could sense that she was close. It wasn't hard, he could feel her anger. It was almost intoxicating, but the dark lord had grown used to negative emotions, practically being baptized in them himself. And yet he found himself wondering, why was this Nikos girl so angry? As far as he knew, all they did was trick her into thinking Jaune was in their prison, but then again, Ozpin was taken back, and while he didn't know anything useful, it was most likely they would have tried to press him for information about Jaune Arc.

So what did he tell her? He couldn't help but wonder.

 _"Yeah, it was pretty cool. Sadly, the cereal isn't very good for you."_ He turned around at the sudden voice in his head.

"What the hell was that?" He asked himself as he could have sworn he heard the Nikos girl talking.

 _"I think you would make a great leader!"_ He heard the voice again as he leaned up against the railing of the observation tower.

"What in the world?" He asked himself as he tried to clear his mind.

"Must be a side effect from her implanting those memories into me." He said as he felt his mind clearing again.

"Odd, I don't remember seeing that memory included among the others." He said as he just let it go. It must have just slipped by him.

"Get a hold of yourself, it's nothing." He said as he looked out over the landscape again.

He couldn't help but feel this nagging feeling in the back of his head, while Salem had given him those memories, he couldn't explain it, they almost felt like they belonged to him. He didn't know why, was this a normal part of the process? To feel those memories as if they were you own? If so, how would this affect him? He really didn't know. And then all of a sudden, he felt something, something familiar. He looked off into the distance as he knew who it was.

"So, you have returned, just as I expected you would." He said as he turned around to see Pyrrha Nikos standing there holding her weapons.

"..." She said nothing in response.

"Have you nothing to say?" He asked as he drew his sword.

"You killed him..." She said as Vader spoke up.

"You'll have to be more specific, I have killed many people." He said as within a blink of an eye, he had blocked a sword strike from her.

"You killed the man I loved!" She said as she let out a scream and attacked again.

The battle was on.


	20. Dark Lord And The Spartan

**And now the the big fight, honestly I am going to try and lengthen this a bit, since honestly all the drafts in my head only last about 2000 words, so I'm sorry its a little short, but its the best I can do.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 20: Dark Lord And The Spartan**

A flurry of strikes was being traded between the two. With Pyrrha being angry as hell, she seemed to be much faster than usual. And Vader was happy to oblige as he had been looking forward to the fight for a long time. Pyrrha was twiling her sword in multiple directions trying to strike at any weak points in his armor, only to find that Vader was too quick and matched her blow for blow, all while trying to counterattack. But the one advantage she had over Vader was her shield, while he only had his sword, so she found it much easier to block his sword strikes.

"Indeed you are powerful." He said as he attempted to go for an overhead slash.

Only for Pyrrha to bring her shield up in an overhead block while at the same time thrusting her sword towards his gut. But at the last second he sidestepped the attack and slid his sword off of the shield in order to go for her neck. But once again, she dodged by ducking under him. And then rolling out of the way to get off to the side. Getting back into her stance, she waited for Vader to charge.

As he got closer, she dipped lower and leaped in between his legs in a roll, and as soon as she was fully through, she bounced back up and attempting to stab him in the back, only for him to actually do a backflip and ended up behind her. She barely had any time to block his strike before it nearly got her.

"You know, for someone who was trying to capture me, you sure are trying to kill me." She spat out out as Vader pressed his sword against her shield.

"It would be an insult to not fight you at my fullest ability." He said as he punched her in the face which launched her back a few feet.

"And yet you won't use your semblance." She said as she charged forward again.

"I never said I didn't want a challenge." He said as she just got even angrier.

Once again, the fight was a barrage of sword meets shield, of punch meets kick. These two were using anything and everything at their disposal, except of course for their semblances. When Pyrrha contracted, Vader expanded his reach, when Pyrrha lunged, he dodged. When Vader slashed, she parried. It was overall an even match. At least for now.

Vader pushed the Amazon against the control panel on the wall, having the walls of the observation tower opening up to reveal the dark night painting the sky. The cold wind being the only other noise besides the clash of steel being heard in the night. Pyrrha was trying her best, but this man almost seemed to be able to predict her moves, she knew he had telekinesis, but just because that was her semblance, it didn't mean he was also telepathic. That would be ridiculous. The only way anyone would be able to know how she moved was if she had trained with them before. And she knew that was impossible.

"What's the matter invincible girl? Short of breath?" He asked as she glared at him and spat some blood out on the ground.

"I'm just getting started!" She yelled as she went for another strike.

And once again it turned into a flurry of blows, only this time Pyrrha was angrier, and while Vader was fast, even he had a hard time keeping up with her at times. This woman was strong indeed, Salem's praise was indeed well earned. And to think Cinder had beaten this girl before. But there was a problem.

Pyrrha while being well trained, seemed a lot more inexperienced with her killing strikes. And he knew the reason why, while she may have been a champion and Huntress, the problem was that she was not training to kill her fellow man. And that is what would make all the difference, despite her anger and pain, he could see that she was still hesitating to cut him down.

"You have learned much my dear Nikos, but you are not the best you could be." He said as he blocked a few more strikes.

"And how would you know what I am capable of?!" She yelled as the two were now face to face. with Pyrrha straing into those dark eye sockets.

"I can feel it, you have anger, you have hate, and still you hesitate, you can't bring yourself to kill me." He said as he pushed her back and thrusted his sword towards his chest.

Only for her to bring up hers shield and have it glance off the top while she attempted to take his head off. Only for him to block it once again.

"I can see it in your eyes, the slight hesitation before a killing blow, if I was a Grimm you would not hesitate me, and yet you find trouble killing a single man." He said as another flurry of blows came into fruition.

"You are no man, you're a monster!" She yelled as she bashed him with her shield three times attempting to force him back.

"Maybe I am, but you cannot deny that what I say is true, you don't have the will to kill me." He said as he took up a stance once again, barely even phased by her shield bash.

"You'll find that I am full of surprises!" She said as she switched her sword into rifle mode.

Vader sighed, he didn't like guns, far too clumsy and random for his taste. Luckily however, he had found ways to counter them. So he prepared his sword as she prepared to fire.

"Lets see how you dodge this!" She yelled as she fired off quick shots to try and catch him off guard.

Vader watched as the rounds came closer, in reality he could just use his telekinesis to stop the bullets, but then he remembered he was not just fighting a physical battle, but also a psychological battle as well, he would need more than brute strength to beat him, he would need to get inside her head, and make her lose focus in the fight, and then he could claim victory.

So instead of using the easy way out, he started swinging his sword, at first Pyrrha thought he was crazy when he started doing that as it looked like he was just shooting at air. But as she was firing round after round, she started to notice something, she heard a slight clinking noise every time he made a move with his sword. It was then that she looked down on the ground, and she noticed that not only had a single bullet not hit him, but they had been sliced clean in two.

Vader wasn't using his sword because he was crazy, he was using it because he knew he could stop the bullets with it. Even Pyrrha felt a chill go down her spine at the thought of that. She had seen fast opponents before, but those could could track bullets and cut them out of thin air, that took some serious training. Whoever trained this guy knew what they were doing.

"If you think resorting to tricks will work on me, you are sadly mistaken." Vader said as he walked forward.

Pyrrha got back up from her crouching position, so Vader now knew about her sword and rifle from, but there was still one thing he wasn't expecting. So she switched her sword to her javelin form and held it in front of her.

"If you think switching to a longer weapon will help you, you are once again mistaken." He said as he walked forward.

"Who said anything about using it as a spear." She said as she let it go. And it sped off.

A few weeks ago she had modified Miló so that she wouldn't need to throw it in order to generate the needed thrust to have it go great distances. This was a trick she had learned after watching some of her old fights. But only just got around to using it herself. And for once during the entire fight, Vader was caught off guard. It was the only reason why he couldn't block the incoming javelin.

"AAHHH!" He yelled as he felt it pierce his shoulder and nailed him to one of the numerous control panels still left after their fight.

Then Pyrrha threw Akoúo̱, the shield's open ends ended up digging into the rest of the console pinning Vader's head and neck against it, turning him into a living target. She reached for the weapon that was on her back.

 _"For Jaune."_ She said as she drew the sword from its scabbard, and turned it into its shield form.

She once said that she would never wield this sword as she felt like it was rejecting her, but at this point in time she needed a weapon to beat Vader, and with her original two holding him down, she had to resort to using Crocea Mors.

"That sword..." Vader said as he recognized it.

"I know that sword." He said as he was attempting to pry the shield off of his neck.

"Oh yeah? It belonged to the man you killed!" She said as she ran forward attempting to impale Vader through the stomach.

"Foolish girl." He said as he ripped the shield off of him and threw it back at her.

Her first reflex was to block it and continue charging, he was still pinned down with her javelin, all she needed was a few seconds. But those few seconds were not going to be enough, using his free hand, Vader ripped the Javelin out of his shoulder and turned it back into its Xiphos form and wielding it in his left hand. This caused Pyrrha to freeze for a moment.

 _"How did he do that?! No one except my team mates knows how to switch it back!"_ She thought as she suddenly realized something.

Vader was moving again, and he had both his sword and her own sword...Crap!

She blocked With Jaune's shield while also parrying her own sword with Jaune's old sword. The two weapons may have been old, but they could still hold their own in a fight. And once again, all you could see was the weapons moving so fast, you could only see blurs. One strike, two strikes, three strikes, parry, parry, thrust, thrust. Over and over again, neither one giving the other any ground, nor taking any ground.

 _"Okay Jaune, here's a new move I've been working on."_ Pyrrha thought back to one of their training sessions.

Realizing it may help her beat Vader, she smirked. No one else had ever seen this technique before, and it was a little strange, but every time she had tried it, it seemed to work. So dispersing her weight between her feet, she jumped in the air.

As she was doing this she knocked Miló out of Vader's hands, causing him to resort back to using his own weapon. Then she used her semblance to magnetize his weapon just enough that he wouldn't notice to throw him off guard, and then when she landed she would strike at the back of his knees causing him to collapse in on himself. In which case she could finish him off with a quick slice to the neck, or with a stab in the throat.

As she landed, she prepared her final move. Her sword was going to his knees. But then, it all went wrong.

"All too easy." Vader said as he he turned around kicking the side of the sword causing her to stumble, in which case she lost the slight pull she had on the sword. The only thing she could do was look up as she saw the blade descending.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" She screamed out as the blade came down on her left eye.

Blood spurted out of the cut that ran from the top of her head down to her jaw. She dropped Crocea Mors and tried to stop the bleeding.

"It's over." Vader said as he saw the girl crawling away from him.

"Ugh." She said as she was crawling towards the edge of the tower.

"It was a good effort, but effort is not enough." Vader said as he put his own sword away and picked up Crocea Mors.

"Pyrrha, you have only begun to realize your potential." He said as she was now on the edge of the tower.

"Come with me, and I will teach you in a way those leaders of yours never could." He said as she shook her head.

"NEVER!" She yelled as she saw that there was no where to go.

"If you only knew what we had planned, you would not be so hesitant to join us." He said as she snarled at him.

"I highly doubt that!" She said as Vader looked at the sword in his hands.

"Ah yes, I know this weapon, its name is Crocea Mors, it belonged to your leader, what was his name? Oh yes, Jaune Arc." He said as she glared at him.

"Don't you dare speak his name!" She yelled as she was worried she wasn't going to make it out of this.

"Oh? Did I strike a nerve there?" He said as he walked even closer.

"I did, didn't I? I see, Ozpin never told you did he?" He asked as Pyrrha spat blood at his feet.

"He told me enough." She said as she was looking for any way to escape.

"He told me you killed him!" She yelled as Vader chuckled.

"No! I am Jaune Arc."


	21. Horror and Denial

**Okay, so here we go again, I have made a lot of progress on this story, which is good for me, because then when I get back to school, I don't have to worry about not updating for awhile. So I think after Spring Break ends, I won't be updating as frequently. So enjoy it while you can, I at least plan to make this story at least thirty chapters, unfortunately, there's really not much left to do with the story line. Besides kick ass training, a bad ass war, and a final fight and some other stuff, but you'll see.**

 **Also to the reviewer who said that I didn't establish that Vader knew who he was: Thats the point, he DOESN'T KNOW He's Jaune, He is pretending he is Jaune to trick Pyrrha, but he doesn't realize he actually is Jaune. Go back a few chapters to when Salem gives him back his memories and you will see what I mean.**

 **Honestly the more I think about it, what I wrote really is kind of jumbled and confusing, but the whole point is he thinks he's pretending to be Jaune, when in reality he is actually telling the truth, which is why he said it, even though he doesn't realize he is telling the truth.**

 **See what I mean? I got confused just writing that. Also I got a new one shot out if you want to check it out.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 21: Horror and Denial**

Time slowed down after Vader revealed the truth. Pyrrha's eyes widened first in shock, and then in pure horror. No, there was no way that Jaune could be this, this, THIS MADMAN! There was no way, she shook her head while holding her bleeding eye, denying what was told to her.

"No! No! That's not true! That's Impossible! You're lying!" She said as Vader chuckled once again.

"Am I?" He asked as she looked deep into his eyes, or what counted for eyes.

As much as she wanted to deny it, she could see no trace of him lying, in fact the only way she could tell if he was lying or not was by the way he spoke. And that was the hardest part, because as much as she tried to deny it, she could not find any trace of deceit in his voice. Whatever he had just said, he was telling the truth but still she did not want to accept it.

"NOOOOO!" She screamed out, her voice echoing in the air.

"What's the matter Partner? Having some trouble?" He said as he took a step forward.

"STAY BACK!" She yelled as she summoned her sword to her hand.

"You still deny the truth?" He asked as she nodded her head.

"There is no way you are Jaune! Jaune was kind! Loving! Funny! You are none of those things! You're a monster!" She yelled out praying that she was just woozy from combat and that this man wasn't actually Jaune.

"Are you denying me because of what Ozpin told you?" He asked as she shook her head.

"I'm denying you because of what you have done! Jaune would never kill anyone! No matter what!" She yelled as Vader grabbed her by the throat.

"Oh Pyrrha, you have no idea what a man can be forced to do...when his partner leaves him behind." He said imitating a sense of anger.

"What?" She said as nobody knew that.

"Don't you remember? That day on top of the tower? I was bleeding in your arms, you didn't even try to get me any help, you just sat there crying watching me die." He said as Pyrrha grew more and more horrified.

"What was it I told you? Was it that Destiny was what we made it?" He said as he dropped Pyrrha back onto the ground.

"It can't be..." She said as she had remembered that was what Jaune had told her.

"And you let me die there Pyrrha, you left me to die!" He yelled out as Pyrrha was crying and trying to deny it.

"No! Jaune told me to go, he told me to help others! Jaune would never scream at me for following orders!" She yelled as she was looking for an escape.

Her answer was a metal sheet that she saw laying on the ground.

"It is no matter, you are beaten, now I will give you two choices...Death." He said as he pointed his sword to her throat.

"Or come with me, the choice is yours." He said as she raised her hand.

"I Choose...Life!" She said as she smacked his sword away and magnetized the hunk of steel, and jumped off the tower.

Vader watched as she fell, unsure of what she was planning to do. Until he saw a metal sheet fly beside him. As she was falling, he saw her use the sheet of metal, and she was now using it to slow her descent. Slowly but surely, her descent started to slow until eventually she landed on the ground as safely as she could.

"So you have chosen death?" He asked himself as she hobbled away.

Meanwhile on the ground, Pyyrha was trying to get away. Was she trying to run from Vader? Or was she trying to run from the truth? Either way she had to get away, she had to get out of here. But she was too weak, she couldn't see out of her left eye, and she was losing a lot of blood. Add that to the fact her Aura had gone down significantly in that fight, she was fighting the feeling to pass out.

But she couldn't do it anymore, she couldn't run, her legs felt like lead weights, she had to sleep. She couldn't keep running. And finally, she collapsed with her face falling into the mud. The sky raining almost as if it was crying for her as well.

"Heh, you stupid kid." She heard a voice say as she was picked up just before she lost consciousness.

* * *

 **ON THE BULLHEAD**

"She doesn't look so good." Nora said as they had one of Ironwood's medics wrapping her eye up.

"Why did she go? That was completely stupid!" Weiss said as she was worried for Pyrrha.

"You read the note, she wanted revenge." Ren stated as simply as that.

They had given Pyrrha morphine, so she was sleeping peacefully, but her shield was gone, and all she had left was her sword. But worst of all, she had lost Crocea Mors, Vader still had it. But the only thing the Team cared about now was getting back to base and getting Pyrrha some medical attention. Qrow was drinking once again, oh who am I kidding, as Glynda even said it in that one episode "HES ALWAYS DRUNK!"

And excluding that slight interruption from the author, Qrow was slightly buzzed as he was grumbling under his breath.

"It was stupid going off to fight him, I had a hard time with him and her response is to go and seek him out? Stupid kid." He said as Ruby smacked her uncle.

"Ow!" He replied as she glared at him.

"It might have been a stupid thing to do, but she wasn't thinking straight! Would you be thinking straight if someone told you they killed your uhm...Never mind, I don't think your flings can count as love interests." Ruby said bluntly as Qrow actually looked hurt.

"Damn Pipsqueak, thats cold." He said as he seriously felt like the Ice Queen just took a jab at him.

"How bad is it?" Weiss asked as the medic sighed.

"Well, she has a severe case of Aura exhaustion, she's lost a lot of blood, she may lose that eye if we don't get her medical attention quick, she also has a really bad case of hematoma all over." He said as Yang spaced out.

"Hema what?" She asked as Weiss deadpanned at her.

"Fancy word for bruises." She said as Yang scoffed.

"Then why not just say bruises?!" She said as Pyrrha groaned.

"Please...stop..." She managed to say over her morphine induced coma.

"oops." Yang asked as Pyrrha fell asleep again.

* * *

 **LATER BACK AT BASE**

Everyone was staying by Pyrrha's bed, for some reason she didn't wake up as quickly as they thought. The doctors managed to take care of her. But as for eye, while they were able to save it, they were unsure whether or not it would be back to its fullest potential. It would depend on how her Aura reacted to the wound as soon as her Aura reserves started to recover from the fight she had just been in.

Ozpin, Glynda and Ironwood walked into the room. Ozpin was now walking around again, but he was still far from back to full strength, they were still unsure how long that would take him. But it was good that he could eat real food and walk again. He was really sick of everything that had happened at Salem's base. Oh yes, he knew who she was, after all, he had unintentionally created her.

"How is Miss Nikos holding up?" Ironwood asked as he had been shocked that the girl had gone off to fight.

"She's doing better, Vader really did a number on her." Nora said as all three of the adults flinched at the name. They still didn't like hearing the truth of the matter.

"Well, at least she's back now." Ozpin said as he couldn't believe Miss Nikos, the one he had chosen to be the fall maiden had been so foolish to go off and do this.

She had always been the most level headed, did Jaune really mean that much to her that she would go off and fight hi-, no that she would go and fight Vader for revenge? Apparently he had underestimated just how much she cared for him, apparently he was much more than a schoolgirl crush. No, he was much more than that. And Ozpin really should have seen this coming, and now his slip of the tongue may have cost her an eye.

"Why does she still have that scar?" Ruby asked as the doctor walked by.

"I'm afraid with how low here Aura was when we found her, that scar will be permanent. " He said as he walked away.

Well, Pyrrha was lucky, from what they had seen of Darth Vader, he was not one to leave his opponents alive, and even if he did, it still usually resulted in losing a limb. Pyrrha overall was probably one of the fortunate ones next to Qrow, as they were the only two who seemed to have fought one on one and come out unscathed.

"How is the little lady holding up?!" They heard a voice say as they all turned around.

There was Commander Wolfe again, only this time he seemed different, his armor had different markings, and he had a new helmet.

"Commander? What are you doing here?" Ironwood asked unsure as to why he stopped by.

"Well, I figured I would see how the girl was holding up, but I had something to show you General." He said as he tossed the helmet to Ironwood.

"A queen's hound helmet?" He asked as Wolfe shook his head.

"Not just any helmet, one I modified myself, to be honest Rex had a problem with what he called the 'Junk armor' so he had us get to work on working on new armor, one that would work better, one piece was the modified helmet so you can actually see better with the T visor." He said as Ironwood looked it over.

"Well that, and now he will actually wear the helmet now that he can actually shoot while wearing it." He said as he scratched the back of his head.

"How long til they get put into mass production?" Ironwood asked as Wolfe counted his fingers.

"Depending on if we send the plans to one of your hidden facilities, I say in about a day or two." He said as Ironwood smiled.

"That's the first piece of good news we have gotten in awhile." He said as he tossed the helmet back to Wolfe.

"Always a pleasure to help." He said as he left the room.

"SHE'S WAKING UP!" Nora screamed as everyone shushed her.

"Sorry." She said meekly.

"W-Water." Pyrrha asked as Ren brought over a glass and a straw.

"Yeah sure P, here you go." He said as she greedily took gulps of water.

"We were worried about you there for a second Miss Nikos." Ozpin said as Pyrrha stopped and glared at him.

"You..." She tried to say.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you." He said as she glared at him even more.

"You lied to me." She said as Ozpin raised an eyebrow.

"About what?" He asked even though he had a feeling he knew what she was talking about.

"Don't play innocent with me Professor...Tell me the truth!" She tried to yell but all that came out were coughs.

"What are you talking about Pyrrha?" Ruby asked as she didn't understand why he was angry.

"Is it true Professor, is Jaune really Darth Vader?" She asked as everyone gasped.

"Pyrrha! How can you even ask that?! There is no way Jaune is Darth Vader! Right professor?!" Weiss yelled as she turned to Ozpin who remained silent.

 _"How could he know? I thought his memories were taken from him? How did he know?"_ Ozpin thought as he sighed.

"He told you?" He asked as everyone's blood went cold.

"It doesn't matter what he told me, is it true or not?" She asked as she was close to tears again, the last few weeks had been really hard on her.

"Professor?" Ruby said in a tone that made her seem like a fragile glass doll.

"Yes...It's true."


	22. Truth and Explanations

**And here we go again, I think this may be the last chapter I write before I go back to school, so let's see how this goes.**

* * *

 **In the Hospital**

"No, that's not true." Ruby said as she fell to the ground.

Nobody was taking the news well. Everyone just looked shocked at the news. All this time, Jaune was Darth Vader? But that didn't make sense! Why would Jaune betray them? He would never do that? And he would never be so willing to kill! This didn't make any sense! And Yet...Ozpin just said it was true. But he told them that Vader killed Jaune? Why would he lie to them?

"You lied to us." Ruby said as she started to glare.

"It was for your own good." He said as the other adults looked away.

"How could it possibly be for our own good?!" Blake yelled out still not believing a word he was saying.

"Jaune isn't the man you remember, I don't think there's enough of him left." He said as Pyrrha spoke up.

"What are you talking about?!" She said as Ozpin sighed and sat down.

"I was there at the beginning, when they first captured him, Salem, the woman in charge of all this, she forced me to watch him become what he is now." Ozpin said as everyone started to listen in.

"She tortured him, mutilated him, controlled his thoughts, altered his memories, she did everything she could to make him suffer, because their prize got away." He said as he turned to Pyrrha.

"You were who they wanted Miss Nikos." He said as Pyrrha had figured that out on his own.

"Eventually his screams stopped, the days went by, and he wouldn't make a sound, no matter how many times she hurt him, he just wouldn't respond, at times I thought he was dead, but I was wrong, he wasn't dead, he was just shattered into so many pieces that you would never be able to find them all ever again." He said as he took a sip of his coffee.

"And then came the man we came to know as Darth Vader, she replaced his limbs with top notch cybernetics, the same used for Jame's own body, but even more advanced, she forced him into that suit, at first he didn't need the rebreather until he challenged her, and she ended up permanently injuring one of his lungs. But enough about that, you want to know why I told you Vader killed Jaune..." He said as they all nodded.

"You owe us that much at least." Pyrrha said as Nora held her hand.

"It's because for all purposes, Jaune Arc was killed by Darth Vader, being forced inside that machine, being manipulated by that witch, being forced to become a killing tool, that's no life at all, if Jaune is still in there, he is suffering, Darth Vader is someone completely different, a split personality if you say, the result of Salem forcing the darkness onto him, until eventually he became one with the darkness within. At first I was foolish enough to think he could come back, But then..." He said as he unbuttoned his coat.

"This happened." He said as everyone resisted the urge to gag.

Littering Ozpin's body were scars upon scars, some looked like cuts, others like burns, and some that were still healing. Overall, his body looked like something out of nightmare on elm street, he looked like he had been put through a meat grinder, and then thrown back it just for the hell of it. Even he had a hard time not flinching at the results of his torture.

"That was the result of one of Vader's interrogations, luckily Commander Wolfe gave me a sedative, but it didn't dull the pain completely, especially since it went on for hours. Vader was crafty, he knew what he could do, and he utilized his abilities to the fullest." He said as he covered his body again.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this because of a personal vendetta, I'm telling you this because if there is any part of Jaune left in Vader, he is being forced to live in that shell, Jaune died the day Vader was born, and I'm afraid there is nothing we can do to get him back." Ozpin said as Pyrrha looked up.

"You don't know that." She said not wanting to believe it.

"And what of that scar he gave you? Do you think he would have spared you if the witch didn't want you alive?" Ozpin said as she remained silent.

The truth was she was unsure whether or not Ja-...No Vader would have spared her, he had been merciless in his killings before hand, so if she wasn't so important to Salem, then would Vader have killed her like anyone else? Was Ozpin right? Was Jaune truly dead? Or could he be brought back.

"There has to be some way..." She said as Ozpin shook his head.

"I'm sorry Miss Nikos, I'm sorry to all of you, but even I couldn't bring him back from the dark, at this point, there is nothing we can do, whoever Vader was before, its irrelevant, the only thing we can hope to do, is put Mr. Arc to rest by killing Vader." He said as he turned to walk out of the room.

"I'm sorry for all of this, I'll give you some time to think it over." He said as Glynda, Ironwood, and Qrow followed him out.

"You really think that was wise Oz?" Qrow asked as Ozpin shook his head.

"No, in fact this is one of the biggest mistakes I have ever made, but it is also one of the most important ones, they needed to know the truth." He said as Ironwood placed a hand on Ozpin's shoulder.

"Do you ever know what the truth is anymore?" He asked as Ozpin sighed once again.

"No, I don't." He said as he stared off into space.

The two teams were left to process what had been told to them. Each one had different reactions. Ruby refused to accept it, but if what Ozpin said was true, then they had to accept it, and while they may not trust him right now, they could understand why he lied, UNDERSTAND, not like. Nora just shut down completely, she sat in a chair with Ren, one would think she was horrified that this happened to Jaune, and that person would be right, but there was another thought going through her head. If it hadn't have been Jaune, could it have been any one of them? Could her or anyone she loved by twisted to that point? In a different time, could she have become Vader? She tried to deny it, but in her heart, she knew it could have happened to anyone. Everyone had a breaking point, and Jaune had reached his.

Ren was thinking along the same line as Nora, but still found it hard to accept his brother had been the man they had fought at the milita camp. That man or was it machine? He could feel nothing but cold when he approached, it was almost like death himself had touched him. Yang stared down at her own metal arm, she knew how much it hurt to lose her arm, but to lose all four limbs and to be tortured for days? She couldn't even begin to imagine what Jaune must have gone through to turn him into that thing.

Blake just couldn't accept it, she knew people could go bad. Adam was proof of that, but she never saw that happen to Jaune, never in a million years, he was always so kind, and to think someone so kind could be broken in that way. It terrified her. What if that was to happen to Yang or Ruby? She shivered at the thought of the two of them being stuck in that nightmarish armor. With those two black soulless pits staring back at her.

Weiss couldn't accept it. The boy who used to flirt with her all the time was now a monster? He may have been annoying, but a killer never. But once again, torture can break any man or woman. And based on what she had heard, it was no wonder Ozpin thought Jaune was dead, because Weiss couldn't imagine any part of him surviving underneath all that suffering. In a way, she almost felt sorry for Vader. No, she didn't feel sorry for Vader, she felt sad for Jaune.

But Pyrrha, she was the worst, because in her head, all she could hear was Vader's words. Telling her it was all her fault he was who he was now. In a way, he was right, she didn't try and get help, she didn't immediately find a way to get medical attention to him immediately, she simply cried and tried to get him to stay awake. But Jaune accepted his death, he was going to die a hero, and now not only was his sacrifice in vain, but he was being forced into the service of that bitch who had done this to him. But Pyrrha still could not shake her own guilt...how do you fight against someone who you loved? How?

"Uhm excuse me?" A small voice said as they saw a small hankerchief wiping Pyrrha's tears away.

"Huh, oh...thank you." She said as she saw a beaming girl with red hair.

"You're welcome, you looked like you needed it." She said as she was at Pyrrha's bedside.

"What's your name?" Pyrrha asked trying to be polite.

"Victoria, Victoria Scarlet." She said as she tilted her head.

"Why are you all crying?" She asked as Pyrrha spoke up.

"We, uh, learned something about our friend." She said as Victoria tilted her head to the other side.

"What's the matter, is he sick?" She asked as everyone felt a little bit better at her childlike innocence.

"No, uhm, he's done something bad, really bad, and now, we don't know what to do." She said as Victoria made an 'oh' face.

"You could always talk with him, and try to forgive him." She said as they all sighed.

"I'm afraid it's not that easy, he's, he's not the easiest guy to get along with anymore." Blake said as Victoria clapped her hands together.

"Ah I see, so he's hard to talk to! Don't worry! I know all about trying to talk to people who won't talk to you!" She said with an upbeat tone.

Pyrrha tried to keep her smile up as she decided to humor the girl.

"And how would you know that?" She asked with a slight smile.

"Oh, I tried to get Darth Vader to talk to me all the time." She said as everyone froze at the mention of that name.

"You...You talked to him?" Pyrrha asked wondering how the girl was not dead.

"Uh huh! He always said I was annoying, but he wouldn't do anything to hurt me." She said with slight pride.

"Weren't you afraid of him?" Nora asked coming out of her stupor.

"At first I was, But then..." She said as she lost some of her smile.

"But then what?" Pyrrha asked, her curiosity taking over.

"When you truly look at him, and look into his eyes, and you see not the image he has created for himself, he looks...he looks so sad, I know because I saw the same look on the servant's faces everyday." She said as everyone's eyes changed.

Could it be?

"But what do you think of him?" Ruby asked as the little girl rubbed her hands together.

"At times, I think he's just like us, a slave forced into service, it just wouldn't make sense for him to act the way he did around me, not only did he one time give me extra food, but I know he was the one who kept leaving those extra rations in our cell after lights out. And while he denied liking me, I can't help but feel that he felt at peace when he was telling me to go away, almost as if he felt human or something, I don't know, Mommy didn't like me hanging around him because he was dangerous." She said as she jumped off the bed.

"Well, I better get going, we're being moved to a refugee camp!" She said as she smiled ran off.

Leaving behind very confused and emotionally compromised huntresses and huntsman.

* * *

 **VADER**

Vader was in his quarters. He had left due to feeling slightly under the weather. Ever since that fight with Nikos, he had been having strange visions. He talked with Salem about it, and she said it was just temporary after effects of receiving someone else's memories. And yet they felt so real, why did they feel so real?

 _"We're going to be the best leaders ever!"_ He heard a girls voice say...Ruby was her name, but how did he know that?

"How is this possible?" He asked himself as he sat down.

He could remember their names, he could remember his...no Jaune Arc's weapon's name, he was recalling so much with great detail. But he was not Jaune Arc, he had only received his memories, right?

Of course, that had to be it. Why would Salem lie to him? She had no reason to, did she?

Vader sighed, he just couldn't figure this out. And it only got worse with every memory that came up. Memories that he didn't even remember receiving.

"That's enough." He said as he tried to force those memories down as they were becoming an annoyance.

He wasn't that weak boy. He was Lord Vader, The Black Knight, leader of the 501st Queen's hound battalion. He wasn't some no name Huntsman from Beacon.

And yet the doubt was still there.


	23. Training and Doubt

**Okay, one more chapter before school starts up again, since I won't has as much free time, I'm afraid my quick to update streak has come to an end. Also my new gym tank top arrived today, it has crescent rose on it. I think its pretty bad ass.**

 **Anyways short chapter.**

* * *

 **BASE CAMP**

"Not good enough kid!" Qrow yelled as Pyrrha fell to the ground.

After she had gotten out of the hospital, she and the rest of her friends immediately marched to Ozpin and their leaders and asked for tougher training. Pyrrha knew that when she fought Vader, she wasn't ready, and he was trained to kill, while she still was new to the whole having to kill another person, despite crushing multiple Queen;s hounds with her semblance, it was a hell of a lot different to kill someone with a blade. So right now, she and the rest of her team, along with Team RWBY were now being put through intensive training. This had been going on for the past few weeks, and while they were making progress. Qrow, Ironwood, Ozpin, and Goodwitch were not known for being deadly because they spent their time behind a desk, they were all deadly in their own right.

First training session of the day was with Ironwood, going over military combat training, tactics and maneuvers. The second one was with Qrow which was a full out sparring match, Goodwitch's training sessions were just like they were at Beacon, albeit now they were going through fourth year training instead of first year training. So that was quite a jump, especially for Ruby who felt like she had been moved ahead of her age group just like with her old friends from Signal.

Ozpin, well, he was still recovering he still proved to be a formidable fighter, he still was spending some time in the hospital, he wasn't visiting anyone, but he was trying to get skin grafts to help heal the scars he had received while being a prisoner in Salem's base.

"I'm not done yet old man!" Pyrrha yelled as she shakily stood back up.

"Yes you are kid, look at you, you can barely stand, and your team mates aren't doing much better." Qrow said as she looked around.

Sure enough, everyone had collapsed exhausted as hell. Their training was hell, there was no other way of saying it. But they knew they needed to get through it, if they had any chance of fighting Vader, Salem, and Cinder. However, there was another goal they had in mind, that they didn't tell their leaders about. After a long discussion about Jaune/Vader in general, they reached a general conclusion, Vader would not have helped out Victoria if he didn't still have a bit of Jaune Arc left in him. And based on whats he had told him, not only was Jaune still alive, but he was still fighting to get out. It was all of a matter of trying to bring him back. And while they all couldn't bare the thought of being wrong yet again, and having to lose him all over again, they couldn't just leave him if there was something they could do to bring him back.

They didn't tell Qrow or anyone else about this plan, as they knew that the teachers would not agree to their plan and would probably send them to the brig for even suggesting such a crazy option.

"Look kid, I admire your tenacity, I really do, but that tenacity won't do you any good if you collapse from exhaustion before you can get back on the battlefield, you've all come a long way in three weeks, but there is only so much you can do with what you got." Qrow said in a surprising bout of wisdom.

"What progress? We still can't beat you when you're drunk." She said as Qrow smirked.

"Kid, how many times do we have to tell it to you..." He started as everyone else in the room finished for him.

"You're always drunk, we get it." She said as Qrow took another swig of whiskey.

"I do my best fighting and teaching when I'm drunk." He said as Pyrrha looked at him.

"I wonder how you found that out." She said as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Found that out when I broke into my parent's liquor cabinet at age thirteen." He said as everyone face palmed.

They guess they should have been surprised he didn't have a bottle of whiskey for a baby bottle. But they figured they would let it slide, once again they couldn't argue with the results.

"Wait, you mean to tell me you're drunk when teaching classes too?" Weiss said as he nodded.

"You bet you rich ass I am, but hey, no other combat teacher gets a higher rating at signal than me." He said as he walked off.

"You get a five minute break, and then its off to Goodwitch with you." He said as he walked away.

"Well, we got our asses kicked." Yang said as she knew she was going to have to run repairs on her arm.

 _"I happen to think you did good!"_ A holographic form of Penny appeared in the middle of the arena.

"Hey Penny!" Ruby said as happy as can be.

Turns out when Penny's body was destroyed, her AI was automatically sent back to Atlas, in which case she was still technically alive, but only as a computer program, they were working on repairing her body, but with the time it was taking, it would most likely be awhile before she was 'combat ready' again. But Ruby was just glad to have her friend again. Pyrrha had apologized over and over again to Penny, but she had waved it off as she knew that Pyrrha was suffering from hallucinations due to the illusion semblance of Emerald.

They had figured out here semblance rather quickly after she was part of the group that caused the invasion of Beacon. Needless to say, Yang was cleared of any charges, and was now on a mission to hunt down Mercury. And make sure she would actually break his legs this time...or rip them off...or rip them off and beat him with his own legs. Whichever one came first.

 _"If you're looking for some advice, you might want to consider trying to find your opponent's weaknesses before you charge in. I am not insulting your skills, but you would be surprised at what you can discover before the fight even begins."_ Penny said as Ruby nodded.

"Thanks Penny! We really need all the help we can get right now." She said as Penny nodded.

 _"I heard, is it true? What happened to Jaune?"_ She asked as for a robot, she even had a hard time believing it.

"Yes, its true, he was kidnapped and...forced into the service of the enemy." Pyrrha said as Penny looked sad.

 _"I just don't understand, why would they do that?"_ Penny asked not seeing the logic in it.

"To get to me." Pyrrha said as she was still a little depressed about it.

She still couldn't understand it, they could have done anything, they could have held him ransom for an exchange, she would have gladly given herself up if it was Jaune she was saving, after all she was willing to do it once, she would have gladly done it again. So why did they choose him to turn him into the monster he became? What purpose did Salem have?

* * *

 **VADER**

"Are you alright Lord Vader?" A Queen's hound asked as he noticed Vader wasn't acting himself lately.

The truth is the memories he had received had been messing with his mentality. They would occasionally flash in front of his eyes for no reason. It was irritating as sometimes Vader struggled figuring out who he was, before he eventually remembered who he was and had to shake it off. Why hadn't these flashes gone away? Salem told him they were no problem, and it occasionally would happen, but why were they so prevalent.

"I'm fine, I just need some rest." He said as that was a surprising answer.

To be honest, no one was really sure if Vader slept, they honestly thought he didn't require it. So it was odd to hear that he did need to rest like other people. The cyborg was definately an odd thing indeed. Anyways, he made his way back into his quarters, his head starting to swirl from the memories. He couldn't stop them, they wouldn't leave him alone, why wouldn't they leave him alone. He was injected with a sedative from one of the medical robots and quickly fell asleep in his medical pod.

 _"Let me out."_ He heard a voice say as he saw a white background all around him.

"Who said that?" He asked as he turned to see a blond hair blue eyed boy.

 _"That would be me. And I said let me out."_ He said with an angry look in his eyes.

"I will not, as this is my body, not yours Intruder." He said as Jaune scoffed.

 _"I'm the intruder? This is my body! You're the sick son of a bitch who is the intruder!"_ He said as Vader shook his head.

"You're just a fragment of someone elses memories, a man long past dead." He replied as the blond was persistant.

 _"Oh really? And why do you believe it? Because the wicked witch of the west told you so?"_ He asked as Vader glared.

"Do not speak ill of my mistress." He warned as Jaune glared.

 _"You mean the woman who did this to you? The one who is the reason we are trapped in this damn suit?!"_ He yelled as Vader shook his head.

"Babble away Cockroach, I know you are just a figment of my imagination." He said as he turned away.

 _"Do not turn your back on me! Not again!"_ He yelled as his voice was fading away into the background.

"You've been dead for months, I am not you, you are not me, now go away." He said as he could see the boy fading away.

 _"I'll come back! I'll find a way to beat you! I will get out of here!"_ He yelled as Vader scoffed.

"I highly doubt that." He said as Jaune said one last thing.

 _"I think you doubt yourself..."_ He said as he faded away into nothingness.

"The fool, even when he is dead, he haunts me." Vader said as he was getting irritated.

This Jaune Arc, he seemed very familiar, and Vader would be lying if he wasn't thinking that there wasn't some truth to his words. But that in itself didn't make sense, if it was true, that would mean that Salem had tortured and turned him into this walking science project he was now. Why would she do that? It made absolutely no sense. If you tortured someone, why would you make them stronger than they were before? Vader could not see the logic behind her actions, if there even was a slim chance he actually was Jaune Arc, he could not see what Salem would have accomplished by turning him into Darth Vader.

 _"I'll...Come...Back..."_ He heard the boys voice once again.

"Stay where you belong, in your own memories." He said as he heard one last thing.

 _"I will...NEVER be a_ memory." For the first time in his life, Vader actually felt intimidated.

While this Jaune Arc was annoying, the fragments that were left of him were rather interesting. Vader actually felt afraid of him at times. But why? He had read up on the boy, and he was fairly unimpressive as far as Huntsman go. So what was it about him that made Vader afraid? And why couldn't he shake the feeling that something was wrong? That something was horribly wrong.

And why did he feel so...Trapped?


	24. Short Filler (Rushed and crappy chapter)

**And here we go again, So turns out I had a little free time. So lets try and get some done. Anyways, I plan on wrapping this up in the next few chapters. So for all of you who like it, there won't be much left.**

 **Honestly I started this as a way to get over Pyrrha's death, and you know its weird, I'm pretty sure I said this before, but her death got to me more than any death on Doctor Who or Game of Thrones, I don't know why, but I seem to be more attached to this show than any other show I have watched in my life.**

 **Sorry this chapters kind of short and suckish, but I've been really busy lately. I just really didn't have the time to edit it or make it good.**

* * *

 **PYRRHA**

Pyrrha was trying not to remove her eyepatch, to be honest she found it to be a weird thing to adjust to. While she was able to keep her eye, her vision in it was terrible, so it made more sense for her to wear the eye patch. While originally they were going to give her a cybernetic eye, she chose to keep it as it was a reminder of what she was fighting for. But she had to admit, it was rather itchy at times. Either way, she was trying to get some rest after a training session, but once again, she was finding it hard to sleep. Because it was yet another night where she was having dreams.

 _"Pyrrha..."_ She heard a voice say as she was in a meadow.

 _"Pyrrha?"_ She heard the voice say as she turned around.

"Jaune..." She said as she ran up to him and hugged him.

She knew this was a dream, but this was the closest she had gotten to him in months. So right now she didn't care if it was a dream.

 _"Pyrrha."_ He said as he hugged her back.

 _"Where were you when I needed you?"_ He said in a surprisingly dark tone.

"I...you told me to go get help." She said as she was a little worried.

 _"You left me..."_ He said as he pushed her away and turned around.

"No! I was just doing what I was told!" She said as she was backing away.

 _"You abandoned me! You let them do this to me!"_ He yelled as she was shaking her head with her eyes closed trying to ignore it.

 _"And now you know...What I have become."_ He said as his voice was replaced by something dark and familiar.

She opened her eyes only to see Vader standing there in front of her, his raspy breathing only serving to scare her. He drew his sword as he took a step forward.

 _"Now its your turn."_ He said as he slashed down.

Pyrrha woke up in bed, well there went the idea of getting a peaceful sleep.

"Nightmares again?" Ren asked as both he and Nora were awake after they heard Pyrrha thrashing about in her sleep.

"Yeah, same one." She said as they sighed.

"It's kind of hard to not dream about that, considering what we just learned." Ren said as he admitted he had some trouble dealing with the news. He was having his own nightmares. Although his were a little different.

In his, he was always in a dark hallway, trying to find something, but he didn't know what it was. All he knew was that he was running, running from what? He didn't know, but it would always come to a single moment. He would come to a grave site, and when he walked up to it, he would always drop to his knees when he read the name on it. It was always the Grave of Jaune, just sitting there all alone in the darkness. And every time he would try to do something else, he would hear the raspy breathing of Darth Vader behind him, right before a sword was shoved through his back, therefore forcing him to wake up.

Nora had similar problems, except she would often wake up with tears, at times even blaming herself for them.

 _"Nora, the childish one, where were you when I needed you? What were you doing? Playing around with some Grimm while everyone was already evacuated? Where were you?!"_ She would hear Vader's voice yell out in rage.

She had tried to tune them out, but even she had problems ignoring it. The dreams were doing a good job at trying to make them experience guilt, Pyrrha was starting to feel like she had really given up on Jaune, Ren felt like he had failed his brother, and Nora felt like if she had taken things more seriously, maybe Jaune would't be the monster he was now. Overall, it was a horrible feeling, but they knew that there was still a chance to fix this.

"Do you think we can do it?" Pyrrha asked as Ren looked up.

"You mean try and bring Jaune back?" He asked as she nodded.

"You heard what Victoria said, she could see the struggle in his eyes...that means Jaune still has to be in there somewhere, right?" She asked as Ren slowly nodded his head, although even he was unsure.

While she had certainly reignited their hopes, they still couldn't help but feel some doubt. Which was no surprise, their thoughts have been full of doubts, they doubted Jaune was alive, the doubted that he could be Darth Vader, they were now doubting Ozpin's leadership, and now they were doubting whether or not Jaune could truly be saved.

"I keep thinking of what he must have gone through, what they had to have done to him to turn him into Vader." Pyrrha said forcing herself to say the name.

"I try not to think about it, it will only make things worse." Nora said as she had heard Ozpin explain what had happened at the hospital, and since then she was trying to push any thoughts of torture out of her mind.

"But it still remains, but thats not all, do you realize, that if it was one of you instead of him, we could have been in Jaune's place?" Pyrrha asked.

In truth, ever since she found out Jaune was Vader, another thing that had been plaguing her mind was the 'What if?'

What if Jaune hadn't been there to save her? Would she have been used as a pawn in Salem's game? Could she have been the one behind the dark armor? Or worse, her teammates? Her friends? She shivered as an image of Ruby possibly being in the armor popped off. And yet the one thought that invaded her mind the most was of herself.

In another time and another place, could she have become Vader? Would she be something else? Would she have been able to resist? How long did Jaune last before Vader took over? So many questions, how could she possibly know the answers?

* * *

 **GENERAL IRONWOOD**

"I must say, I wasn't sure about you at first, but I will admit, your contribution to this army is astounding." Ironwood said as he looked over his new battalion of soldiers.

The new armor had arrived soon enough, along with a whole new battalion, after testing the armor, Ironwood was very impressed. The armor worked so that if you were to take a bullet, it would act as a barrier that instead of diverting the energy of the bullet, it would full on stop it. The armor in itself was also made out of a fairly durable alloy, that if it were to take a bullet head on, the resulting dent would even out, making it look as good as new. However, continuous damage could damage it as with any good armor. That was unavoidable.

But the best part was the helmet, the improvised t visor, really opened up the field of vision, which compared to the original Queen's hound helmet, was much more advanced and reliable. The built in communicator and HUD used for thermal and night vision was also a part that Ironwood greatly appreciated. Especially since there were raids that took their night vision goggles away from them. And they didn't nearly have enough Faunus to compensate for the loss of their eyes in the dark.

"Not a problem sir, like I said, It was nice to make an improvement to that junk armor." Rex said as he looked over his creation.

"So what can you tell me about Vader?" He said wanting more information.

"You mean besides ruthless, brutal and tactically brilliant? We don't know, he was a very private guy." Wolfe spoke up as he was inspecting weapons.

"Seems to be the general consensus." Ironwood said as he was hoping to get some valuable intel.

"Sorry Sir, afraid we can't tell you much, even if we wanted to give you some of his tactics, it wouldn't do any good, he had a knack for making up plans on the spot that were crazy and effective." Gregor said as he honestly didn't know how Vader's mind worked.

 _"Well, seems like Mr. Arc's strategy skills didn't leave him. That complicates things."_ Ironwood said as he had looked over Jaune's records at beacons.

While the boy was an average student in physical combat due to his training with Miss Nikos, his real strength was in tactics, he looked over all classes that had to do with strategy, and Jaune could very well be considered a prodigy in that regard. Almost as if he was a born leader. Not even he could claim to have done as well as Jaune did in tactics, and he was a damn General of the Atlesian Fleet. Which meant that he obviously couldn't treat the boy turned monster like a joke. He would have to treat him as if he was an invading force looking to enslave the world, which in all honesty he was actually a part of.

"Tell you one thing though, while most of his body is cybernetic, it obviously doesn't affect him as much as you would think, he's actually faster than you would think for a hulking man of machinery, Hell, Commander Wolfe here even had a hard time keeping up with him, and hes practically been built for speed since the day he was born." Rex said as Wolfe held a hand up.

"I still retain I was holding back." He said as Gregor laughed.

"Sure thats why you constantly passed out after your training sessions with him!" Gregor said as Wolfe flipped him the bird.

"This coming from the guy who got sent to the infirmary multiple times?" Wolfe replied as Gregor narrowed his eyes at him.

"You really want to get into this again dog breath?" He said as he cracked his knuckles.

"Oi! You two knock it off!" Rex said as he smacked them both upside the head.

"For God's Sake, we're supposed to be professional soldiers, not acting like a bunch of children." He said as they rubbed the back of their heads.

"Hey, we had to act like stuck up brainwashed drones for the past few months, we have a lot of anger to work out." Wolfe said as he sighed.

"Not the most disciplined those two?" Ironwood asked as Rex sighed.

"Laugh now, but there's no one I would rather have watching my back." He said as he put on his own armor.

"Now, I say its time to train these boys to fight like the hounds." He said as he called out to the battalion.

This was going to be a long day.


	25. Doubt

**Okay, so answers to reviewers and PM's**

 **Q: This is terribly written.**

 **A: Well yeah, I knew that, I just get so excited with writing, I forget to grammar check, but god bless you and have a fantastic day.**

 **Q: Has anyone accepted Reading Darth Arc yet?**

 **A: Nope, might be a while before anyone does.**

 **Q: Does Jaune look like Darth Vader or Dishwasher1910's future Jaune?**

 **A: He looks like Darth Vader. I didn't even know about that picture til now.**

 **Q: Harem please?**

 **A: No! Absolutely not! I dislike Harems. Although thank you for asking politely.**

* * *

 **VADER**

"They will be coming soon." Salem said as Vader stood in front of her.

"How do you know?" He asked as she was pacing the chamber.

"Because either they want revenge, our annihilation, or they want answers, and we are the key to all three of those things." She said as Vader crossed his arms.

"I don't imagine they would come right away, we outgun them in both numbers and technology." He said as Salem smirked.

"Oh my dear Lord Vader, I already know that, I am not worried about their arrival, I am simply stating that this is playing into our favor." She said as she sat down on her throne.

"And what makes this so great?" He asked as she wasn't really forthcoming with her plans.

"Simple, when Nikos comes, she will be defeated, and then we can finally indoctrinate her into our forces, but since she obviously won't be coming along, this can give us a chance to get some of the most promising huntsman to join our ranks." She said as Vader walked up beside her throne.

"And what makes you think they will so easily join us? When I spoke with Nikos, he seemed adamant to not listen to me, what makes you think she will listen to you?" He asked as Salem thought she heard sarcasm in his voice.

"Oh Vader, you act as if this isn't the first time I have brought someone over to our side. They don't need to believe in what we do, all we need to do is break them until they no longer know right from wrong." She said as Vader stayed quiet.

For some reason that really resonated with him. Almost as if he had been in a similar situation. No, he was just deluding himself, it was just those damn memories of Jaune Arc messing with his head again. He shook his head of the thoughts before he steeled himself and looked at his Master again.

"And just how do you plan to do that?" He asked as Salem stood up.

"Same way I did it to the Queen's Hounds, manipulate their thoughts until there is nothing left but hate, rage, violent intentions, and complete obedience to me." She said as Vader kept getting the same exact nagging feeling in the back of his head that something was wrong.

"And how are you sure they won't break free?" He asked as she looked at him in surprise. She could have sworn she heard doubt in his voice.

"Are you saying you doubt my power Lord Vader?" She asked while narrowing her eyes.

"Not at all, call it a sense of paranoia." He said as she felt relieved at that.

"I doubt that would be possible, even if it was, I can't imagine if they did break free, that they would be able to live a normal life, if anything they would be so horrified by what they did, they would be so broken that they either would wish for death, or fall right back into my service with a little more persuasion." She said as Vader started to understand.

"So even if someone broke free, there would be no hope for them?" He asked as she nodded.

"That is exactly what I'm saying." She said as Vader nodded.

"I see, so there really is no hope for any of them?" He asked as she nodded.

"None at all, once you push someone into the pit, its impossible for them to climb out of it." She said as he turned to leave.

"Very well, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to training. If this battle is as close as you say, I imagine I will need to be in top condition." He said as she smiled.

"Very well, you are dismissed Lord Vader." She said as he left the room.

 _"Don't tell me you actually believe that?"_ Vader heard the voice of the boy again.

"I thought I got rid of you..." He said as he was walking through the halls.

 _"Kind of hard to get rid of me, when we're the same person."_ Jaune said as Vader scoffed.

"We are no more the same person as a faunus is the same as a human." He said as he heard Jaune's voice in his head growl.

 _"And yet there were so many times in that meeting that you doubted your precious Mistress, don't try to fool yourself."_ He said as Vader was trying to suppress him.

"Can't you just leave me alone? You're just a ghost of the past." He said as Jaune laughed.

 _"How can I go away? After all, its your thoughts that are bringing me back to the surface."_ He said as Vader was getting angry.

"I told you, we are not the same." Vader said as he couldn't shake the feeling of familiarity the boys voice game him.

 _"And yet, I'm still here, and you still have doubts, why don't you do us both a favor and accept the truth?"_ Jaune said as Vader for the first time in his life, actually gave out a sigh of sadness.

"Even if it turns out that what you say is true, you heard what Salem said, there is no way back." He said as the figment of Jaune was actually surprised at hearing the dark entity sound sad.

 _"If you believed that, you wouldn't have questioned her back there, you would have just accepted things as they were, and moved on. You don't even seem to know whats going on."_ Jaune said as his voice went away.

"...Foolish boy." Vader said as the voice finally went away.

While he thought the boy was a fool, he was right. Vader still had his doubts, what if it turned out what he said was true? What if he truly was Jaune Arc? But if he was, why would Salem give him his memories back? It made absolutely no sense, granted he had no memories of his previous life before he was in this suit, but once again, why give a man back his memories? She told him he was not Jaune Arc, but why then did he feel this nagging sense of doubt? And why would the ghost of that boy not leave?

Vader made his way outside onto the observatory deck, looking out at the stars. Doubt and surprisingly fear gripping his heart and mind. His mind was worrying about what if it turned out everything he believed was a lie, and he was just a tool to be used by Salem? That he was destroyed and only the result of a broken man. But his heart was even worse, even if he was really Jaune Arc, he could never go back to that life, he looked down at his hands, he couldn't feel anything in them, they were just mechanical limbs, and all he could see was the black gloves and suit that covered them. He wasn't even human anymore, if he even was one to begin with. So even if he was Jaune Arc, there wasn't enough left of him to actually return to that life.

He had done his research on the boy, he had come from a family of seven sisters and two parents, a family that would probably be horrified if they found out what had happened to their son. After all, who could say that their brother became a mass murderer? Then going back to the boys team at Beacon, and his friends. Obviously they held no love for him once they found out what had become of him. After all, who would honestly still care for their friend when they fought and killed dozens of their comrades? Who would stand by a friend when they fell that deep into the darkness? Vader was certain that those teams would be glad to be rid of him.

But the one who surprisingly hurt Vader the most was Nikos. He had heard her say she loved Jaune Arc, and if by a chance he was the man she loved. He was certain she had extinguished those feelings after what Vader had told her. It was no matter now, if Vader was Vader, then he had nothing to worry about but a life of servitude until he died. But if he wasn't who he thought he was. Then he was damned to a life of being hunted by his former comrades.

There was no happy ending, for Vader or for Arc.

Damned if he lived as Darth Vader, and damned if he lived as Jaune Arc.

* * *

 **RWBY AND JNPR**

The two teams were exhausted. Day in and day out, it was work, work, work. All day, every day. Their trainers were relentless. Ruby and Yang thought Goodwitch was strict back at Beacon. But for god's sake, this Glydna made the one who taught at beacon seem tame in comparison. Seriously, was that how she treated the further years at beacon? If it was, then damn, they had a new respect for CFVY and any other team who had to deal with Goodwitch on a tougher scale.

"Well, This may suck, but I can't argue with the results." Ruby said as Weiss was having trouble getting into bed.

"Hey Yang, can you give me a hand?" She said as she felt stiff.

Yang's response was to throw her prosthetic arm onto Weiss's bed. Causing the ice queen to glare back at her.

"Not the time for a shitty joke Yang." She said as Blake passed out and fell on her bed.

"Oh look, Blake's taking a _Cat_ nap." She said as Ruby threw a pillow at her.

"Seriously Yang, you've made that joke a dozen times, its not funny anymore." She said as she laid her aching back against the bed.

"Hey, I'm sore and tired, I'm running low on material." She said as she laid down.

"You know that was tough when even Nora is passed out." Ren said as they were sharing a bed, and she was currently asleep in his arms.

"Yeah, that girl is on a constant sugar rush, and to think they were able to zap the energy out of her...its unbelievable." Weiss said as she finally managed to get into bed. And then she decided to throw Yang's arm back at her.

"OW!" Yang said as she now understood how it felt to get a punch from her cyborg arm.

"So Pyrrha, you've been quiet." Blake said as Pyrrha was looking out the window.

"Sorry, its just, well you know." She said as they nodded.

"Yeah, we know Pyrrha, we miss him." Ruby said as Yang looked over at her.

"Do you really think its possible? Do you really think he could still be in there?" Yang asked as Pyrrha nodded.

"I have to believe it, its what's driving me to become stronger." She said as Weiss spoke up.

"Look, it's not like I don't miss him too, but what if we're wrong, what if he truly is gone?" Weiss asked even though she really didn't want the answer to that question.

"If he can't be saved...I guess we'll have to release him from that suit." Pyrrha said as everyone got depressed at that.

No one liked the idea of killing an old friend, especially when they had been told he was dead, then alive again, and then he was dead again, only to find out he was with the enemy, and now they were unsure about whether or not he was still alive. The time ever since Jaune was left behind on top of that tower had been one of the most heart wrenching and confusing times of their lives.

"But, we can save him...we have to, right?" Ruby said as Pyrrha nodded.

"I really hope that's true." She said as she laid down and tried to go to sleep.

"Well, we should rest, tomorrow the General wanted to brief us on a mission."


	26. Plan of Attack (Filler)

**Okay, So I'm done with finals, and I have been on vacation. Now I'll be honest, this chapter will probably make no freaking sense. And the reason being is because, I started this chapter maybe close to two months ago. And I needed a way to get Vader and Pyrrha to reunite, no ideas seemed to work, and honestly, even this one doesn't work. So while its not exactly good, its what I got.**

 **So yes, I know this chapter may seem odd, and the plan may seem odd. But hey, as soon as this chapter is out of the way, I can get to the stuff I want to write.**

 **Anyways, I have also been working on my Punisher story, mostly because I think the demand for that one is pretty high, especially since this story has so many chapters, and Punisher only has three. I have been taking a break from Darth Arc and focusing on Punisher and plot points.**

 **Another thing to go over, I am now adding small notes like (1) to avoid using author notes in the middle of the chapter.**

 **Also, I'll be honest, I've been away from this story for awhile, so even I don't remember what I wrote, so if there are inconsistencies that contradict what I said earlier in the story, please message me so I can change them or edit them out.**

 **Like I said, as far as chapters go, I am not proud of this one, but hey I mostly write for fun. So God Bless you all for reading it, and have a fantastic day.**

* * *

 **RWBY AND NPR**

For the past few months, RWBY and NPR had been doing multiple missions in order to fight against Salem's forces. They had teamed up with the newly name Atlesian StormTrooper divisions under Commander Rex to go on raids as well as fight the enemy head on. Ruby had to admit, the armor Rex and the others had worked on was impressive, but besides from their teams wearing a few pieces of it around the legs and arms, they still had their basic outfits, as that was what they were comfortable with, and what they chose to stick with.

Although Rex did give them some headsets that included the features in the Trooper helmets such as HUD, Night vision, and the works. Ruby was not ashamed to admit that she geeked out over it.

Pyrrha had merely modified it so it took the place of her regular armor, but it was still spray painted to fit with the bronze color of her armor.

Other than that, they all looked the same.

"You know, its weird, to think that our luck has turned around for once." Yang said as they were resting after a long battle.

"I wouldn't say that, just because we're putting up more of a fight doesn't mean we aren't in trouble. Atlas can only train so many StormTroopers at a time, Cinder can afford to lose soldiers, we can't." Blake said as Yang groaned.

"Geez, Blake, I get the situation, but damn try to sound more optimistic." Yang said as Blake sighed.

"Sorry, its hard to turn that side of me off." She said as Weiss spoke up.

"Either way, we're still one step closer to victory." She said as some of the troopers were loading up supplies.

"Got to say though, their tank designs are weird." Nora said as she looked over the AT TE.

"Could be worse, I saw one of the designs they had that looked like a chicken, all I know was that it was supposed to have laser cannons that packed a punch, although its kind of hard to take that dang 'chicken leg' walker seriously." Ruby said, she may have been a weapons geek, but some things look ridiculous no matter how bad ass you make them out to be.

"Ma'ams!" One of the troopers said as he ran over.

"Yes?" Pyrrha asked as they looked over at the exhausted trooper.

"Captain Midnight send me to get you! He says the General has an important message for you!" He said as they nodded.

That was another thing, as it turns out, their old friend Jack had not only flown through basic training, but he turned out to be quite the tactician and was sent to OCS, add that onto the fact that he had proven himself as a capable battlefield commander, he was selected to lead the 101st Airborne division for the fight against Salem. He had his number of defeats like any other commanding officer, but it was still good to have someone they could trust on their side.

"Let's hope Ironwood has some good news for us." Blake said as she put her weapon back in its sheath.

* * *

 **VADER**

"You feel it don't you?" Salem said as Vader looked over the mountains.

"The change in the breeze?" He asked as he was unsure of what she was talking about.

"Come now Vader, don't make jokes, we know that's not your area of expertise." She said in a slightly annoyed tone.

Vader was acting rather strangely lately. As the months went by, he barely talked to anyone. That didn't bother Salem much as she sent him out on mission after mission hoping to gain the advantage over their enemies. However it appeared the little insects had some fight left in them after all. Before Vader attained Victory after Victory, but lately he had actually met his match. Ever since Atlas had stolen some of their plans for the Hound's armor, they had managed to replicate it. While they still needed to train soldiers, the new Storm Trooper battalions were proving to be a problem. Especially since they were on an equal level with his Hounds.

While the Hound's obeyed order without question, they weren't truly fighting for anything. These Storm Troopers did have a reason to fight. And Vader would admit, although he would never tell this to Salem. He respected the Atlesian forces for their desire to persist even in the face of annihilation. After all, it wouldn't do any good for Salem to hear Vader actually complimenting their enemies.

"I mean do you feel the encroaching victory?" She asked as Vader shook his head.

"I do not see how you could feel something such as that." He said as Salem looked at him.

"As the humans would call it, its a 'Gut Feeling.'" She said as Vader just nodded, not really paying attention.

"You don't usually come out here, so what are your orders?" He asked as Salem frowned.

Vader was not usually this blunt, at least not with her of all people. She chalked it down to the fact that they had been at war for a long time, and he was just recovering from his many battles. But she still couldn't help but get a nagging feeling in the back of her head that something was wrong. But once again, she was certain that nothing would go wrong. Vader was still her pet, and nothing was going to change that.

"You've seen the reports, and I know you saw the Nikos girl on the battefield not too long ago." She said as Vader nodded.

He was only acting as a commanding officer, but he had seen the girl fight against his Hound's about a month ago. He had to admit, she had grown stronger, of course she still had the scar from their last encounter. But she seemed to have found a way to work around that handicap. He would admit he was impressed with her. Course, he knew that he couldn't have captured her there, there was an army behind her, and he knew that he could only do much to fight against them. So in the end all he could do was run, he knew they would meet again one day. After all, it seemed as if their paths had been aligned by fate itself.

"She's still just a girl." He said as he tried to hide the fact he was interested.

"A girl that is starting to lead her own battalion, she is starting to be more trouble than she is actually worth." Salem said with slight anger.

"Are you saying we need to move up our plans to capture her?" Vader asked as Salem shook her head.

"Yes and No, while I can't deny that she would be a tactical advantage, I'm starting to believe she is simply not worth it, even if we were to bring her over to our side, what would be the point? Once Ironwood finds out she has turned, he won't hesitate to strike her down." She said as Vader raised an eyebrow under his helmet.

"Are you suggesting that I kill her?" He said not feeling entirely comfortable with the idea.

"If it must come to that, I would still prefer that you capture her, even if I can't find the time to turn her, the information in her head would still be useful to us." She said as she walked away.

 _"So this is what it has come down to."_ Vader suddenly sighed at the voice again.

"I thought you were finally gone." He replied as the voice sighed.

 _"I pity you, you just don't get it, how many times do I have to tell you, you are me, and I am you."_ Jaune explained as Vader looked out over the horizon.

"And I have told you that it means nothing." He replied with his hand on his sword.

 _"You know as well that I do, that you're just fooling yourself, come on, you can't do this."_ Jaune tried to explain but Vader blocked him out.

"I can and I will." He said as he walked back into the base.

* * *

 **BACK WITH PYRRHA**

"YOU WANT HER TO DO WHAT?!" Nora yelled out as she was furious.

"With all due respect General, that seems risky." Winter Schnee said as she was now glaring at her sister who was now trying to hide behind Yang.

Winter was not happy when she found out where Weiss was hiding all this time, and she was tempted to take her to a room and spank her like when she was a kid and got caught sneaking out of the house. But for now, she would settle for a glare. Either way, Weiss and Winter were going to have a LOOOOONNNNNG talk afterwards.

"Uhm, could you perhaps repeat that sir?" Pyrrha asked as Ironwood sighed.

"We want you to infiltrate Salem's base." He said as Yang cracked her knuckles.

"You better elaborate on that plan really quickly." Goodwitch stated as she did not like the sound of this.

Ironwood sighed as he pulled up a display.

"We all know that Salem is sending out her troops and we have been meeting them field to field, that much is obvious, however despite all this, she has felt secure in her main base of operation, which until recently, we have not been able to muster up enough troops to attack in an all out frontal assault." He said as Ruby raised an eyebrow.

"Until recently?" She asked as Ironwood nodded.

"We recently received a new battalion of troops ready for battle, however we have also gained some assistance." He said as he turned to a few figures stepping out of the shadows.

"Team RWBY, NPR, Meet General Steelheart Of Vacuo, General Goldbloom of Vale, and General Bronze of Mistral." He said as the three generals saluted. (1)

"Our enemy still thinks us of divided, luckily however we still managed to muster up enough troops loyal to us that we could help you with your assault." Goldbloom said as Ruby looked at them with a spark of hope.

"Are you saying the kingdoms are finally uniting?" He said as Bronze sighed.

"Not exactly, while some are still in a disarray since the Vytal Tournament, you could say that we managed to scrounge up enough manpower in order to form a seperate divison of the army to help with your fight against this Cinder woman." She sighed as Ruby looked a little sad at that.

"What do we have to do to make them stop?" She said as Steelheart scoffed.

"Aside from fixing the communication towers and giving out undeniable proof that Atlas wasn't behind this, I say you have about as much chance of getting everyone to work together as one, you would have better luck trying to convince the white fang to go pro human." Steelheart said as everyone was feeling a bit down at his negativity.

"You don't seem to be in high spirits general." Winter Schnee said as he looked over at her.

"Oh don't get me wrong, I'm all for fighting back, but with how divided the world is right now, It's going to take an act of God to try and stabilize it." He said as he pulled out a flask and took a swig out of it.

"Can we just get back to this whole plan please?" Ren asked as he was unsure of this plan.

"Miss Nikos will go in with Ms. Belladonna, obviously she knows her way around the place, and Miss Nikos should be able to provide muscle if they run into any enemy forces. Meanwhile, a small force led by General Steelheart and Myself, will falsify an attack on a key location away from the base." He said as they looked confused.

"Why do that?" Ruby asked as it didn't make any sense to her.

"The keyword is a small force, at this point, Salem does not know that we have made contact with the other Generals here, as far as she knows, we're still fighting on our own, so she wouldn't be expecting an assault at her front door with the combined might of Soldiers from all four kingdoms." Ironwood explained as it was starting to make more sense.

"What does that have to do with Blake and I?" Pyrrha asked still not liking the idea.

"Once they realize its a trap, they will try to radio back to base informing them of the impending attack, Ms. Belladonna on the other hand has been in their base and has memorized the inner workings, she knows where the communications room is, so you two would be on a sabotage mission." He said as they nodded at that.

"But we already infiltrated there once, I doubt it will be as easy as it was before." She said as Commander Rex came in the room.

"Well, its a good thing Vader still thinks I'm on his side." Rex said as he stepped into the room.

"What? How could he possibly think you're still on his side? You've been gone for months. He would have figured out something was up by now." Weiss said as she could not see the logic behind Rex's mission.

"He would have figured it out, except as far as he knows, I've been on a recon mission with Wolfe and Gregor behind enemy lines trying to gain information." He said as everyone felt a little tense at that.

"Oh relax, while he thinks I may be spying on you, its fairly obvious I'm not, for gods sake, if I was going to betray you, then Vader would have stormed this place months ago." Rex said as everyone relaxed just a little bit.

"That still doesn't explain how he doesn't suspect you." Weiss said still suspicious as ever.

"Simple, he thinks I'm spying on you, and while he may be able to catch a lie coming from any of his subordinates, I haven't been lying to him. The General has been giving me outdated information about Atlesian troop movements, supply depots, and key locations, so technically I'm not lying to Vader, but hes not getting any new information, as far as he knows, my mission has been a failure, and while he may not take failure well, he knows I'm a valuable asset, if I was that bastard Obsidian, he would kill me where I stand." He said as Weiss spoke up again.

"But wouldn't he grow suspicious once he realizes they haven't made any progress in hampering Atlas? He would have figured out that the information you had given him was not accurate." Weiss said still grilling him to make sure he wasn't just a fool.

"Maybe, if he was sending his own troops there, as far as he knows, Gregor, Wolfe, and I are leading our own platoons to destroy these key locations, which in reality we are." He said as they looked confused.

"To elaborate, all you'll find at those depots is junk armor and outdated weapons meant to be retired anyway, we destroy those, plant a few fake corpses, transmit to Vader, and he thinks we're still his loyal soldiers." Rex said as Weiss seemed satisfied.

"Wait, what do you mean by planting corpses..." She said hoping it wasn't what she thought it was.

"Well, t-thats hard to explain." He said as Ironwood spoke up.

"The corpses belong to executed prisoners from Atlas prison camps." He said as everyone looked disgusted at that.

"You what?!" Yang yelled out not liking the idea.

"They were deserters! Traitors! They were destined for the chopping block anyways!" Ironwood said defending himself.

"Still, thats sick." Yang said as Ironwood narrowed his eyes.

"This is war, you'll find that you will have to do things you are not proud of to try and get an advantage over your enemies."

This was true, while people like to think that war is only fought on the battlefield, sometimes people got caught in the cross hairs. During the Great war, key cities full of civilians were bombed, the reason being was because not only did it remove a key point in the enemies infrastructure, but also because it would destroy supplies and workers needed to help build weapons, vehicles, and anything that could be used to fight against the other side. The slightly darker side of it was that they were also bombed to also stop potential recruits from joining their kingdom's military, it was meant as a way to kill off the number of soldiers before they even joined. It was a brutal tactic, and unfortunately one that had been used many times throughout Remnant's history.

"Its still sick." Yang said as Ironwood crossed his arms.

"I don't want to do it, but if that helps us get closer to beating Salem, then I will continue on." He said as things went silent.

"Do we have to go into further detail, or should I prattle on?" Ironwood said as Pyrrha spoke up.

"We'll take the mission, but not before you tell us EVERYTHING we need to know.

* * *

 **(1) Steelheart is not a self insert, I just figured I would try to make the General's names based on either metals, alloys, or precious metals. It didn't go over too well.**


	27. Instant Failure and Capture

**Here we go. I kind of rushed through this, and to be honest, I wrote this at around the same time I wrote my Pecking Order fic, so I was drunk when I wrote this chapter.**

* * *

"Are you sure about this?" Blake asked as they were sitting at the entrance to the base.

"A little late to back out now don't you think?" Rex asked as they were all decked in armor.

It was true, they had managed to get their hands on some old armor taken from some hounds. Which was now serving as the perfect disguise for infiltration. Add on to the commanders currently leading their small group. No one would ever expect a thing.

"Look I'm nervous okay?" Blake said as everyone looked at her.

"Really? You used to work for a terrorist organization, and you're afraid of going into this base again?" Gregor asked as she nodded.

"Hey, these guys make the White Fang look like the schoolyard bully." She said as everyone shrugged their shoulders.

It was true, within the span of a few months, these Hounds had done more damage than the fang had done in three years. There was also the fact that Blake had heard about the ass whipping that her her Ex partner/lover had recieved from Vader. From what she had heard, he had sent Adam running home with his tail in between his legs. And any man who was dark enough to do that to Adam scared the hell out of her.

"Lets just hurry up, I don't want to be in here any longer than I have to be." Pyrrha said as she really didn't want to stay here longer than necessary.

"Ah, Commander Wolfe, you have finally returned." She heard a familar voice say as they walked in.

"Lord Vader! Reporting in as ordered sir!" Wolfe snapped a salute as Vader walked over.

"I recall sending three of you out on reconnaissance, who are the other two?" He asked as Blake and Pyrrha got worried.

There was no way he could figure them out that easily? Right?

"New trainees Sir, you know how it goes, especially with us having to double the war effort, Salem ordered that white fang members be inducted into the Hound's division to make up our numbers being diminished." He lied perfectly to his commanding officer.

"I see, she did mention something like that, its no wonder they smell of fear, these white fang grunts are nothing but cowards who hide behind a ridiculous cause." Vader said as Blake accidentally spoke up.

"What's so ridiculous about it?" She said as she suddenly wished she hadn't have said anything as Vader turned to glare at her.

"Since you're new and do not know of my reputation, I'll let you live, but if you really must know, if the white fang was truly trying to get people to stop looking at them as criminals and murderers, the last thing they needed to do was prove those same people right by showing that they are criminals and murderers." He said as Blake didn't say a word.

"I may be a murderer, but I'm honest about it. I don't care about the faunus, but it doesn't take someone with brains to realize if you have the stereotype of being violent and engaging in criminal behavior, the last thing you do to try and improve your image is act exactly like people think you should act. Its stupidity at its finest." Vader said as he walked away.

"Well, he was...pleasant." Blake said as they started walking along. The sad part was Vader may have been a murderer, it didn't make him any less right.

"Try not to think about it, we got a job to do." Pyrrha said as she had a hard time keeping her composure.

Especially since she now knew who Vader was. She had to resist the urge to cry at what he had become. Her emotions were running wild and she knew she had to keep them in check, or else she risk being detected. But he was right there, he was right in front of her, and the last time she had seen Vader, he had taken her vision in one eye away from her. Overall, she had a mixed bag of emotions going through her head.

She shook her head, continuing to follow Gregor to where they need to go. Until suddenly.

"COME ON! TO THE TRAINING GROUND!" She heard a group of Hounds say as she suddenly got swept up with them.

"Woah! Hey!" She yelled as she couldn't escape from the massive horde, and she definately couldn't use her semblance to escape.

So in the end, she had to go with the crowd. Which in turn seperated her from her group.

"Damn it, we're only five minutes into this base, and already we lost out heavy hitter." Rex said as Blake followed closely.

"In that case, we better hope that we can get in and get out of here in time."

* * *

 **PYRRHA**

"Come on! Kill him!" She heard a voice yell out from the crowd as they were down in the training grounds watching a sparring match, or what she was calling a massacre.

These two men in front of her were literally beating each others brains in. She had lost count of how many twisted and broken limbs she had seen when they had started brawling. She had even seen a few of them literally take off their helmets and beat the other one to death with it. Which didn't seem physically possible. How the heck does the helmet have enough weight that it could kill someone? Then again, this armor was slightly heavy, maybe it had a bit more weight to it than she thought.

"Ah damn it, there goes my money." A man next to her said as she was slightly confused.

She knew that they were gambling. But weren't the hounds supposed to be emotionless robots? Why did these guys seem so bloodthirsty? Or was this Salem experimenting with new ways to warp the mind? She had no idea, all she knew was that these guys were freaking psychos.

"Well who is up next?" The judge said as someone shoved Pyrrha into the fray.

"Ah! Unit 773, good, we got the perfect opponent for you." All of a sudden a large man stepped up.

 _"Holy shit, he is big."_ Pyrrha thought as this man was about as tall as Yatsuhashi was.

"If any of you die without any blood on your hands, I'll rape your fuckin corpses!" The judge yelled as the larger hound charged at Pyrrha.

Immediately Pyrrha had to go on the defensive, after all, she didn't know what she could do. Obviously she had training in hand to hand combat, but considering the fact that she liked to use her semblance in accordance with her fists and legs. So taking away that was a huge disadvantage. So right now she had to focus on dodging and blocking. Although after taking a kick from this man, it felt like she was hit by a Paladin, which she knew if she took more hits like that, it would damage her aura. And losing aura was not something she could afford to do on this mission.

"COME ON! FIGHT BACK!" The mountain of a man yelled as Pyrrha dodged another kick and landed a kick to his knee.

Only for him to just shake it off and grab her by the neck.

"You'll have to do much better than that, whelp." He said as he threw Pyrrha into the crowd, only for them to push her right back out.

"Come on 773! I bet money on you!" A white fang member yelled as Pyrrha was trying to focus.

Admist all the screaming, it was hard to keep focus. Especially with the thought of all those other corpses she had seen get pulled out of this arena. So she started to analyze her opponent. Obviously he was a heavy hitter, but he was slow. Unfortunately the armor he was wearing did a good job at making her attacks useless. But she noticed that there were gaps, mostly in the neck area, under the armpits, and around the waist. It would have been perfect if she could stab him, but once again, that would not do good for her stealth mission.

Pyrrha narrowed her eyes beneath her helmet, she knew her best bet was to go for the neck. So she charged forward, trying to duck under his attacks. Bob and weave, bob and weave.

"Stop moving so I can hit you!" He yelled as he threw punch after punch that kept missing.

Pyrrha smirked, this is what she wanted. He may have been big and a heavy hitter. But the thing about bigger guys is they tended to have a lot of power, but poor stamina. If she could get him to wear himself out, she could probably get a good choke hold on him and ending the fight. Then again, if she managed to take another one of those hits. She had to hope that he wasn't quick enough.

Another punch came from the right, it merely grazed her armor, but she could still feel the force behind the blow. An axe kick came from above, she barely managed to dodge that one before it came crashing down and cracking the concrete beneath her. Good thing she managed to avoid that one, it could have killed her. And then in a surprising bout of speed, the larger man actually managed to perform a tornado kick. However, Pyrrha smirked, she had seen people perform those fancy mid air kicks, and while they were effective if they landed, it also gave her the advantage of getting to use her semblance. Because before she couldn't control his movements on the ground because he would have noticed. But when he was in the air, all she needed was a slight adjustment.

Focusing her semblance on his armor allowed her to throw him a little bit off course. Not prominent enough that he would suspect foul play, but simple enough to give her an advantage. As soon as his kick missed and he landed, Pyrrha jumped on his back and ringed her arms around his neck. Trying to choke the life out of him.

"AGH! GET OFF ME!" He yelled as he was throwing his weight around trying to throw her off.

Another thing Pyrrha had underestimated, just how much effort a man being choked would give to save his life. Because right now he was thrashing around like a bull at a PBR show. And she was struggling to keep her hold.

 _"COME ON! JUST ENOUGH TO KNOCK HIM OUT!"_ She thought to herself as she really needed to hold on, or else she would have to wait for another oppurtunity.

"YOU LITTLE BITCH!" He yelled as he launched her forward. And sadly, she lost her grip.

"SHIT!" She yelled as she felt her back hit the round and then she rolled forward. Which wouldn't have been so bad.

Except for one thing, when she came to a halt, her helmet fell off. And every Queen Hound and white fang member saw the tell tale red hair and green eyes.

"IT'S NIKOS!" They all yelled as she suddenly felt something hit her in the back. Which made her unable to move.

"To think, we spend this entire time searching for her on the outside, and she comes right here into our nest. Inform Lord Vader that we have the Nikos girl, I'm sure he will want to hear of this." One of them said as she heard the familiar voice.

"No need Lieutenant, I am already here." He said as Pyrrha saw a pair of black boots enter her field of vision.

"Hello Nikos. I believe Salem would want to have a word with you." He said as he slapped restraints on her wrists, as she was going to be walking as his prisoner when that paralysis aura wore off.

* * *

 **WITH BLAKE**

"Damn it! They captured Pyrrha! This whole plan is going to hell." Blake said as she was looking through the information.

"Stop complaining and get back to work, if we get lucky we can still get our work done before they send their goons to look for anyone else who may be here!" Gregor said as Qrow looked confused.

"Why would they look for us?" He said as Rex looked at her incredulously.

"You realize they saw her in Hound's armor, they will not assume she came in alone, and keep in mind, They saw us come in with her!" Rex said as Qrow went wide eyed.

"Shit...GET BACK TO WORK!" He yelled as he joined Blake in her mission.

They better hope that they can sabotage the commincations array before they catch onto their plan. Otherwise not only where they going to lose Pyrrha, but they would also lose the war.

* * *

 **BACK WITH PYRRHA**

"Salem has been expecting you for quite some time, I never thought you would show up right at our doorstep. Who would have thought that Commander Wolfe would have betrayed me? I'll make certain he dies a traitors death." Vader said as there was now an aura suppressant on Pyrrha to keep her from using her semblance.

"So he will...Jaune." She said as she saw Vader stiffen up.

"That name, no longer has any meaning for me." He said as Pyrrha looked at him.

"I think you're lying, if it didn't mean anything to you, why did you suddenly go cold?" She asked trying to get him to think.

"You're deluding yourself with visions of a past friend." He said as they continued their walk.

"I know its you in there Jaune, Ozpin told me so." She said as Vader chuckled.

"Was this not the same Ozpin who told you that I killed your precious lover?" He asked as Pyrrha narrowed her eyes at him.

"I found out that was a lie the hard way, but this time I know the truth, and I'm not leaving you like this." She said as Vader looked at her.

"You're a fool if you actually believe anything Ozpin told you." He replied as Pyrrha glared at him.

"And what about you? You told me yourself that you were Jaune." She said as Vader glared back.

"Key word being I was Jaune Arc, Jaune was weak, I destroyed him." He said as Pyrrha stopped walking.

"Then why didn't you kill me?" She asked as Vader stopped walking and suddenly started to stare at the wall.

"If Jaune is really dead, then why did you hesitate to kill me, you only went for my eye, almost like you didn't want me to die." She said as Vader honestly didn't know how to respond to that.

Obviously Salem wanted her alive, but why only render one of her eyes useless? Why not cut off a hand? At least then she wouldn't have been able to fight as effectively. Why did Vader go easy on her? He didn't know the answer, but he knew it had nothing to do with that fool Jaune Arc. He had buried the memories and visions of that boy deep within his mind, and he would be damned if the boy was going to suddenly make another visit.

"Jaune..." Pyrrha said as Vader turned around.

"Please, I know its you in there, Salem didn't destroy you, you can fight this, you could come back with me, you could be a hero, just like you always wanted, remember?" She asked as Vader kept silent, the only sound that echoed within the halls was his raspy breathing.

Vader wouldn't deny that there was a part that was tempted by her offer. But he already knew how this was going to end. No matter what he wouldn't be able to break free of Salem's control. He had already told himself one very important fact. He would be damned if he lived as Jaune Arc, and he was damned if he lived as Darth Vader. There was no gray area for him, Salem had made sure of that.

"It is...too late for me, Pyrrha." He said as she looked depressed but she noticed something different about him.

"You said my name." She said as Vader looked at her.

"And what of it?" He asked as she let out a small smile.

"This whole time, you have referred to me as Miss Nikos, Partner, Miss, Girl...you never once called me by my name." She said as they came to an elevator.

"It was only a formality, I would suggest you keep quiet, Salem does not appreciate loudmouths." He said as she looked at him with pain in her eyes.

"Jaune...Please, you don't have to do this." She said as Vader shook his head.

'No, you don't understand, I must do this, I must serve my mistress. Now get in." He ordered as he pushed her in.


	28. Conversation Between Enemies (Short)

**Here we go, another chapter or Darth Arc, getting close to the end, can't believe its almost done. Then I can focus more on Punisher and my drunk fics. Honestly looking back at some of the chapters, there are a lot of things in this story that don't make sense, heck some of the plot details in this chapter don't even make sense.**

 **Hell looking over some of them, I think I may have contradicted myself, yeah, I don't know anything about Salem, so I can't really write her in very well.**

* * *

 **VADER AND PYRRHA**

"So we finally meet Ms. Nikos." Salem said as she stood up and walked forward.

"You must be Salem." She said as she took a look at the woman.

The woman was somewhat pretty, but the traits of Grimm scarred her face. While she had an air of mystery around her, the red eyes glaring back at Pyrrha were very unsettling. She looked up at Vader's Helmet to try and gauge his reaction, but then she cursed under her breath as she remembered she couldn't see his face. It really irritated her, when she found out who he was. But she couldn't even see under that damn mask for the final proof. That one piece of information that could officially confirm her beliefs.

"I trust Lord Vader has made you comfortable?" She said as Pyrrha glared at her, this bitch was just trying to annoy her.

"You're just toying with me aren't you?" She asked as Salem smirked like a predator with her food.

"Well, you're no fun are you. But there is a certain spirit to you, I like that." She said as she grabbed Pyrrha's chin.

"Ah yes, I can sense the aura flowing through you, obviously I made a good choice." She said as Vader stood in the shadows.

"And what plan was that?" She said as she saw her weapons in the corner of the room. All while trying to dismantle her manacles.

"Isn't it obvious? I want you to lead my army." She said as Pyrrha raised an eyebrow.

"That's stupid, why would I ever do that?" She said as Salem looked at her.

"Oh Ms. Nikos, I never said you would have a choice, Vader if you would give us a moment." She said as Vader nodded and stepped outside of the room.

"So...all of this, just to get me to lead your army? That's it?" She said feeling angry as Salem nodded.

"Yes, Though you have proven to be a thorn in my side, I imagine that you would work well in my favor." She said as she sat down on her throne.

"Then why send Cinder to kill me? You had her ready to shoot an arrow through my chest, if you wanted me alive, why would you order her to kill me?" She said as Salem rolled her eyes.

"Ms. Nikos, do you honestly think so little of me that I couldn't bring someone back from the dead? Your wound would have been fatal, however Cinder was meant to transport you here to us, afterwards, I could heal your fatal wound, and then force you to serve me...but there was a problem, as you already know." She said as Pyrrha glared at her.

"You mean Jaune?" She said as Salem nodded.

"Yes, the Arc boy was an error in planning on my part, but I have to admit, I was not expecting the boy to have this much hidden potential, at first when I put him in that suit, I didn't think much of it, I figured Vader would be dead within a week, after all, who could survive in that suit? But the boy amazed me, not only was he well trained, but his sheer brilliance in tactics helped make him the fearsome commander he is now, even I was impressed." She said as Pyrrha's hands were shaking.

"So you really did torture him, just like Ozpin said?" She said as she really wanted to skewer this bitch.

"Torture? My dear girl, what you think of torture is merely a shadow, I did much, MUCH worse. As you can see for yourself." She said as Pyrrha really wanted to kill her.

"Why? He never did anything to you, you could have taken me at the very beginning, I was mourning for him and weak, so why didn't you take me then?" She said as Salem looked at her.

"Isn't it obvious? While I could have taken you then and there, I simply took your precious lover because I wanted to, because I knew that if one day you were to try and rise against me, I could use him against you." She said as Salem ran a finger down Pyrrha's face.

"After all, when Ozpin told you that Jaune had been killed by Vader, did you not immediately come here to kill him? Vader told me the story, and while I was displeased you got away, I knew it was only a matter of time before you came back." She said as Pyrrha shook her head.

"That still doesn't make sense, why allow all of this to happen, this all seems like a big inconvenience to you." She said as Salem looked out a window surveying the landscape.

"Tell me, have you ever tortured anyone Ms. Nikos?" She asked as Pyrrha shook her head vehemently.

"I think you already know the answer to that." She said as Salem chuckled.

"I'll tell you this Nikos, when you torture someone, you don't take everything away all at once, I prefer a longer more drawn out approach, you slowly break their will over and over again with events that inspire a small ray of hope. It gives them the illusion that there will be a happy ending, but when the pain returns, a part of their spirit withers away and dies, as soon as I had Cinder leave you on that tower, I knew I would have to get more creative, if I took you when you were fully rested, I doubt your spirit would have broken easily, but you see there is one thing I could exploit." She said as she looked at Pyrrha.

"Your love for Jaune, oh love, your kind thinks it's such a wonderful thing, but just like everything else in this world, there is an evil to it, love can make you strong? I say it makes you weak, after all, you showed how reckless you could be whenever your love for Vader was threatened, you were willing to throw your life away, and possibly betray your friends just for the chance to see the boy again, and with every failure, you grew weaker. That is why I let it happen, not because of mercy, but for the pleasure of watching you slowly die inside." She said as Pyrrha growled at her.

"Seems you failed again, because I'm not giving up anytime soon, no matter how much you torture me." She said as Salem chuckled.

"Oh girl, I'm not going to torture you, Vader is." She said as Pyrrha froze up at that.

"He won't...He can't." She said as Salem's smirk grew darker.

"And you prove me right once again, I could feel the fear roll off of you as soon as I mentioned him, so you do still love him...how sickening. One thing you should learn Nikos...I always win." She said as Pyrrha looked down at the ground.

"And once again, I can feel your resolve dampening, does Lord Vader really mean that much to you? I must say I'm shocked you could ever love a man, especially after all that he's done to you." She said as Pyrrha glared at her.

"What he's done, is all because of you! You did this to him!" She said as the woman in front of her continued to smirk and chuckle at her anger.

"You should just accept it Nikos, the boy you loved is dead, Vader is all that remains." She said as Pyrrha looked at her, defiance in her eyes.

"You're wrong, he's alive, I know it." She said as Salem sighed.

"What is it with you humans and your twisted sense of hope?" She said as Vader came back into the room.

"Our forces have arrived at the rebel outpost, should I give the order to exterminate them?" She said as Salem nodded.

"And now, with that order, the last of your little rebellion will be wiped out, a pity. While you have been a thorn in my side, I admit I will miss playing this game." She said as Pyrrha chuckled.

"Do you really think you will get away with this." Pyrrha said as she was close to breaking out of the manacles.

"I don't think, I know." She said as Vader came to take Pyrrha to the torture room.

 **KA BOOM!  
**

An explosion rocked the base, causing even Salem to stumble. Her head filled with confusion as she saw Pyrrha break free from her manacles.

"The funny thing about you evil types, in movies and in real life, you just don't know when to shut up." Pyrrha said as her weapons flew to her hands and she launched an attack at Salem.

Only to be immediately blocked by Vader, who had practically moved to intercept her within the blink of an eye.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" She yelled as she was not expecting this.

"Oh simple, you see while your friends went to go attack our outpost, we have been gathering here, in other words, It's a trap!" She yelled as she felt odd satisfaction from saying that.

"Looks like you're not so tough after all." She said as she saw Salem immediately yell orders into the com link, only to get nothing but static.

"That won't help you, looks like my friends managed to get that com tower down, no one is coming to help." She said as Salem glared at her.

"Do you think you have won?! VADER! Kill her! At this point I don't care what you do, but I want her head on a platter!" She yelled as Vader nodded.

"Wait...Jaune...are you sure about this?" She said as Vader responded by slashing at her.

"I guess that's a yes." Pyrrha said as she looked at Salem.

"Too scared to fight me yourself?!" She yelled as she saw Salem glare at her.

"You may have surprised me with that, and you may have thrown a wrench into my plans, but I can still feel the pleasure of watching you die by his hands." She said as she sat back down on her throne.

Vader prepared his sword as Pyrrha took a stance, her eyes staring into Vader's soul. Begging him to stop, she was begging Jaune to come back, but Vader was not backing down. Pyrrha knew that her pleading was not going to work. She was going to have to fight him again. And while she could still feel the sting of his blade on her eye. She had grown in strength since their last fight. With that in mind, she ran forward and clashed her blade with his.

All while Salem looked on with a malicious look in her eyes.

* * *

 **JACK**

"COME ON BOYS! GET SOME!" Jack yelled as he led the assault on GrimmKiller base, as some of the men had called it, honestly he had no idea how they came up with a stupid name like that.

He had to admit, out of all the things that had happened to him in his life. He never expected this, going from being a grunt in a militia, to being a commanding officer of the Atlesian army, and actually leading a battalion on what some would hope to be the final fight. Although something told him it wouldn't be the end. But he sure as hell wasn't going to tell anyone that.

"Captain! We have bombers flying up ahead, and we got troops ready to go on the ground, when do we attack?" A private came up as Jack looked at him.

"Those ships can only drop so many bombs, they're hitting targets such as the aircraft hangers, it should cripple their forces in the air, leaving us with the advantage in the skies, and they will be forced to fight on the ground, as soon as you see those Hounds come out of the base, you attack fast and you attack hard!" He yelled back as he held his assault rifle close.

Honestly he was surprised that this worked. He kept getting the feeling that this was actually a dream or a nervous hallucination. He had been in battle before, but considering the fact that this was a full out siege on a base, he reserved the right to be nervous. Most of the time they were busy laying waste to small outposts and small battalions who were out on patrol, but this was much bigger than he thought.

The base while not indestructable, was pretty hard to penetrate. Thats why they had to focus their fire on areas like the aircraft hanger since it was one of the most vulnerable parts of the base. Unforturnately the main base was heavily gaurded, while the explosions would definitely rock the foundation of the walls, and probably shake up the people inside of the base. They couldn't bomb the entire thing to oblivion, things were never that easy.

"Well, lets just hope that we get out of this alive." Sergeant Alexander said as he walked up to his Captain.

"Hey Captain?" He asked as Jack looked at him.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"If I kill more Hound's than you, you buy the beer." He said as Jack groaned.

"Screw you I bought it last time! I'm not losing to you again!" He said as the sergeant smirked.

"Thats what all you pencil pushing officers say, I'll bet you a case of Black Cat that I kill more than you." He said as they saw movement.

"Well, we best get to it then!" He yelled as they ran into the battlefield.


	29. Battles

**Okay, this is the second to last chapter, or maybe I may write three more chapters including this one. Depending on how this one turns out. Honestly, I have become pretty bored with this story, and just want to see it finished.**

* * *

"You've improved." Vader stated as he parried a blow from Pyrrha's sword.

"I had a reason to." She said as they met slash after slash.

"I thought I told you, that boy you knew is no more." He said as he thrusted his sword forward, only for her to move her head out of the way, duck underneath, and push his sword away with her shield, while also aiming a slash at the weak points in his armor.

From what Ozpin had told her. All of his limbs were mechanical, so she didn't need to worry about actually hurting him. But the problem was she had to aim for areas that would slow him down, areas that his armor was weak in. So around the areas where the shoulder meets the neck, or where the delt would reach the shoulder blade. In other words, it severely limited her options. In Ozpin's own words, he was way more machine then man, twisted and evil.

"And I thought I told you that was a lie." She said as Salem just rolled her eyes in the background.

"So melodramatic, why don't you get back to killing each other, talk is boring." She said as if she was watching a game of football on the television.

Pyrrha glared at her. This woman just continued to piss her off more and more. Granted she couldn't think about how angry she was at her, especially when Vader and her were engaged in a duel. Once again, she had to push herself just to keep up with him. She may have been in intense training, but it was obvious that he had gone through his own. And based on what Ozpin told her, he had an unfair advantage due to his cybernetic limbs.

She knew from her training with Ironwood that you never wanted to fight a cyborg. If a man was flesh and blood, his body can eventually get tired, his arms will feel fatigued, and his aura can only do so much to stop him from dropping from Exhaustion. But with a cybernetic implant, it was much stronger than a limb of flesh. And to make matters worse, machines didn't get tired, they had their limits, but stamina was never a problem if they had droid limbs.

She knew her one hope was to go for Vader's head or chest, where his armor would most likely be the weakest. But once again, there lied the problem.

She was trained to kill Vader, but if there was any hope of bringing Jaune back. She needed him alive. And that was yet another problem. Vader would actually kill her if she gave him the chance.

She bashed her shield against him, pushing him back and jumping into the shadows of the throne room.

"Ah, fighting from the shadows, that seems unlike you." Vader said as he looked around.

Salem always kept her throne room dark, it may have been stereotypical of a villian to have a dark lair, but she hated the sunlight, too many bright and happy thoughts came along with the light. So she preferred to stay in darkness.

"I found that sometimes you have to resort to things you don't want to." Pyrrha's voice echoed around the chamber.

"You are only delaying the inevitable." He said as he heard a chuckle.

"I could say the same thing to you, Jaune." That name was really getting on Vader's nerves.

"If you're trying to change my mind by repeating that weakling's name, you might as well surrender now." He said as he reached out with his semblance hoping to get a sense of things.

"What's wrong? Afraid that I used your real name?" She said as Vader sensed something.

"If I were you, I would spend less time talking, and more time planning your defense!" He said as he reached out into the darkness and grabbed Pyrrha by the throat and threw her into the light.

"Koff...Koff..." She said as she was planning a sneak attack that went wrong.

"Many assassins have tried that approach on me, I would suggest a new strategy." He said as she glared at him.

"What is this, some kind of game to you?" She asked as Vader narrowed his eyes underneath his mask.

"Only if you rely on poor strategy." He said as he held his sword up.

"Then I guess its time to take off the kid's gloves." She said as she crouched down into a stance.

 _"I'm getting you back, one way or another, even if I have to beat you to a pulp."_ She thought as she charged forward.

"Yes, Yes, Fight all you want, it won't change anything." Salem said as she drank out of a goblet.

* * *

 **OUTSIDE THE BASE**

"COME ON MEN!" Jack yelled as his soldiers followed behind.

"You know, I admire our Captain, but honestly, what kind of nutcase charges into battle with just a sword and a bow and arrow." A private said to his buddy.

It was true, Jack had lost his assault rifle due to a weapon's malfunction, but that gave him an excuse to use his favorite two weapons, his Grandpa's basket hilted broadsword, and his Grandmother's long bow. They didn't even transform into anything, they were just regular run of the mill weapons. **(1)**

Granted they couldn't argue with his results, who knows how many battles he had been in, and yet he usually managed to come back without a single wound. Minus the one time that he got drunk and was bitten by a white fang grunt. But that was a whole other story. The point was he didn't believe in all the fancy transforming weapons that some of the Huntsman had, why not go with good ol fashion steel and a good ol fashion bow and arrow?

"I don't know, but there is a reason they call him Captain 'Mad' Jack Midnight." The PFC said as they dodged a bullet zooming over head.

"COME ON YOU FAUNUS BASTARDS!" He said as he decapitated one.

"Uh, sir that's racist." One of the female soldiers said.

"Oh please, I wasn't referring to our guys, besides PFC Charcoal over there is a bear faunus, you see him complaining about racism?" He asked as PFC Charcoal was under fire.

"WHO GIVES A SHIT WHAT THE CAPTAIN SAID. JUST KILL AS MANY OF THOSE WHITE FANG FAUNUS BASTARDS AS YOU CAN!" He yelled as he stabbed one through the eye.

"I still think its insensitive sir." She said as Jack glared at her.

"There is no place for sensitivity in war." He said as they all charged back into battle.

Meanwhile, General Ironwood was smirking. They had managed to get a sneak attack in on the base. This was the best bit of luck they had in months.

"Hopefully this will put a dent in their forces." He said as he got ready to go out onto the battlefield.

"Going out there yourself General?" Glynda said as she walked in.

"It's my duty, Glynda. I can't ask those men to sacrifice themselves if I won't do the same." He said as he got his pistol.

"I was wrong about you, you know?" She said as she got closer to him.

"How so?" He asked as he got a spare pistol just in case he lost his.

"I used to think you didn't have a heart, it's a shock to find out you do." She said as Ironwood sighed.

"Listen, I know that my actions around the counsel may seem heartless, maybe even mean spirited, but in the end, those are my men down there, and if I can get even half of them home to their families, I will. If by chance, my presence on the battlefield, increases their motivation to survive and go home, then I will risk my own life for them." He said as Glynda was now face to face with him.

"Well, don't think you're going without me." She said as she had her riding crop.

"You and I fighting side by side? Never thought I would see the day." He said resisting the urge to smirk.

"Don't push your luck." She said as they got ready to jump out of the bullhead.

"By the way, where is Ozpin?" Ironwood said as Glynda looked at him.

"Where do you think?" She said as he sighed.

"He's going after Miss Nikos...are you sure he is up to it?" He asked as it was her turn to sigh.

"He's gotten stronger, and he's back to fighting shape, but he'll have to fight his way through legions of soldiers." She said as they jumped.

* * *

 **OZPIN**

"Good to see I can still fight." Ozpin said as he was leaving behind a legion of soldiers.

"And to think, the students thought because I used a cane that I was too old to kick ass." He said in a rare moment of letting his fun personality show.

The truth was, the calm and reserved personality was for the students, behind the scenes, he was pretty laid back, and at times he could even be boastful. In battle was one of the few places he could cut loose. And while he may have lost against Cinder and Salem. He had no doubt that he could take on these Queen's hounds easily.

"I need to get closer to the base, the more of these Troops I take out, the more it helps James, and the closer I get, the more time I have to get to Miss Nikos, if I was a gambling man, I would say that Salem has already pinned her up against Lord Vader." He said in a grimace.

He wasn't just fighting his way to help Miss Nikos. He was also fighting his way there so he could fight against Vader. He did not believe for a second that Jaune was still in there. He was certain that he had been killed. But he knew what Miss Nikos was like. He saw the look in her eyes.

He knew that she still believed Jaune was alive. And that was very dangerous. Granted Ironwood had sent her on the mission without informing Ozpin. Unlike his colleagues, he did not have faith in Mr. Arc. Not after what he had seen and what he had been through. Especially when he remembered that compared to Salem, Mr. Arc may has well have been an ant.

In his eyes, Jaune was dead, and it would be merciful to kill Vader, especially since if word got out about who Vader truly was. People would lose hope. Those who knew Jaune spoke of him fondly, including his family, who had been informed of his death at the hands of Lord Vader. To find out that Jaune had turned over to the dark side would crush them. In a way, Jaune had become a symbol for many of his friends before the truth came out. Lord Vader, however was the force that seeked to corrupt that symbol.

"Down boy." Ozpin said as he smashed a dog faunus's skull in with his cane.

"Oops, that was only meant to be a concussion at best." He said as he continued to walk on.

* * *

 **BACK WITH PYRRHA**

Pyrrha was currently hiding. She had to keep silent. A sneak attack wouldn't work on Vader, but what she needed now was to recuperate. She may have gotten stronger, but so had he, and it woudl be wise to get some rest before attacking again.

"You cannot hide forever Nikos." Vader said as he was searching for her.

"I will not continue this pointless battle!" She said as she switched positions, trying to throw Vader off.

"It is the only way that you can save your friends and allies." He said as he lifted his helmet.

"Ah yes, especially that team of yours, what was the name? Oh yes...JNPR." He said as Pyrrha had to remain calm.

He was just trying to get a rise out of her. And she was not going to fall for that trick.

"Tell me, do you ever worry, that you will fail them? Just like you failed me?" Vader said as Pyrrha felt him touch a nerve.

"Does it ever burn you up, knowing that you could fail to save them, after all, you couldn't even save one person, what makes you think you can save your team, let alone a whole race?" He said as Pyrrha was feeling her strength returned.

"Or have you excepted the fact that you can't save everyone?" Vader said as he suddenly heard a movement.

He turned to block a quick strike from her sword.

"I didn't fail at saving you..." She said as she bashed him with her shield.

"I'm just about to complete that mission." She said as Vader's sword was by his side, as he looked hesitant for a moment.

"You still believe in those foolish hopes of yours?" He asked as he was having a hard time believing her.

"I won't give up, not when I am so close." She said as things went silent for a bit.

All you could hear was the sound of Vader's breathing, almost as if he was contemplating what she said.

"Then you will die." He said as he swung at her again.

* * *

 **(1) Look up Captain Mad Jack Churchill**


	30. Duel Between Lovers

**Okay, so here we go, the second to last chapter. Some of you will be happy, and some of you will be disappointed. Honestly, I've been putting in a lot of work on Endless possibilities and Out of Place, because they're fun to write.**

* * *

 **VADER**

Vader had to admit. She had drastically improved, it had been a long time since he actually felt his heart beat increase. It had been a long time since he had felt physically exhausted from a fight. The white fang and Queen's hounds had nothing on Nikos. She was truly his equal, he could only think about how powerful he could have been if he had his original body.

While the cyborg enhancements did increase his strength, the respirator was a handicap and his weakpoint. If it was damaged, he could die.

"I thought you were going to kill me?" Pyrrha taunted Vader.

"I never said I didn't want a challenge." He said as he was parrying her blows.

"I'm starting to think this is less about wanting a challenge and more like you don't want to kill me?" She asked as Vader scoffed.

"You are as delusional as you are stupid." He said as she narrowed her eyes.

It was the same every five minutes, they would fight, evenly matched. And then she would say something to try and make him slip up. It was a strategy that he had to admit, while clever, had no effect on one such as him. He may have been Jaune Arc once, but he was no longer that boy.

 _"You know she's right!"_ Jaune's voice yelled in his head.

"You again?" Vader yelled out loud as Pyrrha was confused.

"Uh, I've been here fighting you for the past half an hour." She said as Salem acted impatiently.

"Will you two get back to fighting? Chit chat is tremendously boring." She said, although she was worried as to why Vader was talking to himself.

Vader was confused, why was the voice coming back now of all times? Why when he was fighting Nikos? The last remnant of his past life. Where he could finally be rid of these memories of Jaune. Wait, he didn't believe he was...No, what was going on?! Why was he having these thoughts? Why was his head fighting itself.

"Whats the matter Vader? You're getting slow!" Pyrrha said as he was starting to slow down.

"SHUT UP!" He yelled out in an outburst of anger.

"Oh? Is something wrong?" She said taunting him further.

"I SAID BE QUIET!" He said as the thoughts in his brain were enraging him, he was making mistakes.

Pyrrha knew this was her chance. Vader was getting tired, not only that, but he was getting mad. Anger may be a powerful thing, but Vader was making mistakes, she knew that stamina training would pay off. All she needed to do was outlast him. And she would have victory. And her victory seemed to be at hand.

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" He yelled as he gripped his head with one hand and blocked a strike with the other.

"You feel it don't you? The call to who you really are." She said as she knew Jaune was in there.

"I feel nothing! I am Vader!" He said as he attacked Pyrrha.

"No, you're not, you know who you are! Stop denying it!" She said knowing that Jaune was trying to come back.

"I told you before! You are a delusional fool!" He said as she bashed him in the head with her shield.

"If I'm such a fool, then why are you starting to make mistakes." She said as she begun the advance.

This was her chance! Vader was utterly distracted by his own anger, and over on her throne. Salem was starting to get very nervous. This wasn't supposed to happen! Vader was supposed to keep calm and wear Nikos out until she eventually broke down due to sadness at realizing Jaune truly was no more. But Vader seemed to be getting angrier and angrier over his identity. Was it possible that he was starting to remember who he was? No! That wasn't possible, she had broken him beyond repair! The thought of Arc surviving that amount of torture was insanity at its best! Actually now that she thought about it, she saw something underneath Vader's cloak.

The weapon of Jaune Arc, Crocea Mors. He still had it from when he fought Nikos. She thought he had thrown that thing into the incinerator, so why had he kept it? Was it possible he knew who he was.

Salem shook her head, that was impossible. Her powers were far beyond the human spirit. There was no way he could remember. It must have been a side effect of that memory return, he was having a sense of mistaken identity. There was no way he could remember.

"AGH!" Pyrrha got a deep cut on her arm. This proceeded to make her angry.

"THATS IT!" She yelled as she turned it up a notch.

She bashed Vaders elbows as he went for an overhead strike, knocking him off balance. She then struck her shield against his thigh. She knew from experience that his legs were not completely mechanical and only started at the knee. So she could still use his flesh points as a weakness. Vader collapsed a bit, but was back on his feet to defend himself. She parried his blade and spun around to bash it to the side, while kicking him in the helmet.

The blow to the head dazed him. The problem with wearing a helmet was that you would feel the whiplash whenever it got hit. It would protect your head, but it was still a jarring experience. Vader had to take a step back to get his bearings. But Nikos was not going to give him that opportunity. That cut had gotten to her head, she was out for blood now.

"AGGGHHH!" She yelled as she landed a slash to his upper arm area, just below the shoulder armor. Which left a deep gash in his armor...and in the flesh underneath.

Pyrrha got a peak of burned skin, but all she could pay attention to was trying to get back at Vader. She hit him with everything she had. She kicked, punched, bashed, slashed, cut. Whatever she could do. Whatever she was doing, it was effective, because Vader was slowing down.

He leaned against a rail, holding his sword with one hand, he needed to catch his breath.

Slash to the right leg, he winced at the pain.

Slash to the chest, he was distracted by the sudden attack.

He fell lower to the ground, and Pyrrha knocked his sword out of his hand and brought her own blade down.

Her anger had given her such strength, that somehow she managed to cut through his cybernetic limb. And Vader fell to the ground.

"Ahhhhhh!" He put his other hand up in surrender.

"Well, well, well, isn't this a surprise." Salem said as she walked up to them.

"Vader, Vader, Vader, I expected more of you." She said as Vader was wheezing from being out of breath.

"But you Miss Nikos, you were everything I expected and more, truly you are deserving of a place in my army." Salem said as she held out her hand.

"Now, kill him, and join me." She said as Pyrrha's anger was starting to fade.

She looked down at the form of Vader, the once intimidating figure looking so weak, and then she looked at the limb she had cut off. Only to find that it was just wiring and durasteel. If that wasn't enough, she took a look at the exposed parts of his suit, where she had attacked him earlier.

Mangled flesh as far as the eye could see, burned and mutiliated beyong recognition. Pyrrha felt like she was going to be sick. What did Salem do to him? And how long had he suffered.

"No..." She said as she turned back.

"Excuse me?" She asked shocked.

"I said No! After what you did to Jaune, do you really think I would ever join you! You must be out of your mind!" She said as she prepared her weapons.

"So you will not turn?" Salem said as Pyrrha snarled at her.

"Pity...well, Cinder if you would?" Salem asked as Pyrrha felt a kick to her spine.

"Heh, I told you Vader was a waste." Cinder said as she kicked Vader while he was down.

With only one hand, there was only so much he could. And from how worn out he was. It was obvious he wasn't going to be doing anything anytime soon.

"Is that all you got?" Pyrrha asked as she felt like she had been kicked by an elephant.

It didn't help that she used all of her energy in the fight with Vader.

"Oh Miss Nikos, you have no long how long I have waited for this moment." Cinder said as she had a burning hatred for the Nikos girl.

"Come Vader." Salem said as Vader got back up and stood at her side.

"I thought you were going to kill me." He said not knowing why she wasn't executing him for his failure.

"Well, she turned down our generous offer, I could brainwash her if I wanted to, but at this point, she's made me so angry, I don't care if Cinder kills her." Salem said in anger.

"And what of Ozpin? Surely he will come to save the girl." He said as Salem chuckled.

"Mercury!" She said as the boy in question walked into the room.

With Ozpin beaten and bruised at his feet.

"Professor!" Pyrrha yelled, not sure what to believe.

"He put up a good fight, he even killed Emerald, unfortunately for him, he forgot Salem had the ability to suppress Aura, he's not going to be fighting anytime soon." Mercury said as Ozpin groaned.

"What a peculiar mess you have gotten yourself into Ozpin." Salem said as she turned to Cinder.

"Now you will be able to watch as your precious savior dies." She said as Cinder grinned.

"Finally." She said as she charging up a Maiden attack.

"Jaune! Please if you're still in there! Help!" Pyrrha called out to Vader.

Vader remained silent.

"For Oum's sake Jaune! You can't let them do this! Not to me! Do you remember what you said?!" She said as Vader still didn't show any sign of emotion.

"You told me I was worth saving...and that you loved me." She said with a few tears spilling out.

Vader tilted his head at that. He...remembered something. A long time ago.

"Enough chit chat! Just kill her!" Salem said as Cinder was preparing for a blast that would incinerate Pyrrha from the earth.

"Please..." Pyrrha begged.

Vader look at her, and then back to Cinder, then back to Pyrrha. The floodgates opened. He...remembered things. Things that he shouldn't have known.

 _It's arkos! When we put both of our shields together!_

 _Could you help me become a better fighter?_

 _My mom always says, strangers are just friends you haven't met yet._

 _These things tend to happen when you grow up with seven sisters_

No, it wasn't possible? He...He was Jaune Arc. All of this time, he was really him? The memories of his torture came back to haunt him. The endless beatings, stabbings, and burnings. All horrible things, every shred of pain came back to haunt him. Underneath his helmet, he felt tears forming, for the first time in a long time, he knew who he was. And he knew what he had to do.

"GOODBYE!" Cinder yelled as she launched her attack.

 ** _SCHLUNK!_**

Only to find that both of her arms were cut off.

"AGGGHHHH!" She yelled in pain as she looked at the stubs that had form.

"WHAT?!" Salem yelled as she looked at the sight.

Vader had taken a defensive position against her. Crocea mors had been activated. He was holding his sword with his good hand, and he was using his semblance to hold his shield. He was breathing very heavily as he glared at Salem and Cinder.

"What are you doing?!" She said as Cinder laid on the ground in pain.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha asked with hope.

"You..." Vader said.

"YOU DID THIS TO ME!" He yelled as he charged at them.

"What are you talking about?" Mercury asked.

"My name is not Vader, my name is JAUNE ARC!" He yelled as Pyrrha smiled.

"He's back..." She said barely holding back happiness.

"So be it...Arc..." Salem said with a hateful glare.


	31. Passing of a Hero

**Okay, so here we go, what should be the final chapter of Darth Arc. After this, my focus is going to be on The Punisher, Endless Possibilities, My Self Insert 'Out of Place' and my drunk fics. Hope you all enjoy.**

* * *

 **WITH JAUNE**

Jaune released the suppresant on Ozpin and helped him to his feet.

"Hey Professor, you still got some fight left in you?" He asked as Ozpin was shocked that he was acting like this.

"Jaune...is it really you?" He asked not believing what he was seeing.

"If it wasn't me, would I have really cut off Cinder's hands?" He asked as Ozpin grinned.

It was him alright.

Jaune held his blade to Cinder's throats, she was powerless without her hands, and she was at his mercy.

"I am afraid I have to do this though." He said as he cut her head off.

Pyrrha and Ozpin were a little shocked at that, but even more shocked by what happened next. Cinder's body started to disintegrate. The power of the Fall Maiden shot up into the sky. The beams of energy swirling around and around. Salem was glaring at it, as if it was the sun about to cast light on her mistakes.

"NO! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!" She yelled out as she couldn't believe it.

She tried to contain the power before it was too late. But as luck wasn't on her side, she was too late. You see, the maiden Cinder had stolen her power from was dead, and Cinder herself was now dead. So the power had to lock on to someone who was worthy, and had a taste of the power beforehand. Pyrrha had no idea what to do when the power of the maiden shot towards her.

"AAHHHHHHH!" She yelled as the power enveloped her.

"PYRRHA!" Jaune yelled out, his voice was still being changed by the respirator. So it was weird to hear Vader's voice shout out in concern.

"WOOOOOOAAAH!" She said as the energy cleared and she felt alive.

"I...I feel great!" She said as she had never felt this powerful.

"Pyrrha, you're alright?" He asked as she nodded.

"Yeah, I guess since we weren't stealing it from anyone, it didn't change who I was...that's a relief." She said as she couldn't help but panic at the thought of losing herself.

"Well right now, we got bigger problems." Jaune said as they turned to a seething Salem.

"I noticed, and Jaune?" She asked as Jaune looked at her.

"I missed you." She said as Jaune's breathing reverberated through the air.

"Me too...I was gone for a long time." He said as he prepared Crocea Mors for battle.

"How cute..." Salem said as she looked at the three.

"You don't seem too angry. Despite the fact I just killed Cinder." Jaune said to his former mistress.

"If she was stupid enough to have her arms cut off so easily, she wasn't suitable to live." She said as Jaune looked at her.

"You still don't seem too upset about that." He said as he was surprised at how calm she was.

"Oh, I am seething, but the thing is, this minor setback won't save you." She said as she moved with blinding speed and punched Ozpin into a wall.

"OZ!" Jaune yelled, not knowing she could move that fast.

"You may be strong, but you're ants compared to me." She said as she threw Pyrrha into a wall.

Jaune was scared of her for once in his life. He knew Salem was powerful, but he had never actually seen her demonstrate her power. To think that Ozpin just got taken out so easily was UNBELIEVABLE. She had been this strong this entire time? If that was the case why didn't she finish everyone off a long time ago.

"I don't understand, you could have killed us from the beginning, why wait?" He said as he had his shield up.

"Oh Mr. Arc, you see, I don't obtain my power by normal means, you can say I am like a Grimm, I grow stronger with every negative emotion in the world...and there is a lot of negativity in this world Mr. Arc." She said as Jaune's eyes widened.

"That's why you had Cinder frame Atlas, that is why you started this whole thing, to get people to fear and hate one another." He said as it was starting to make sense.

"Correct, you see, I may be strong in my own right, unfortunately, Ozpin and his damn defenders would still beat me in a fair fight, they represent the light side of humanity, while I represent the dark side of the Grimm." She said as she was starting to ramble.

"When light overcomes darkness, there will only be small shadows here and there, but when the darkness becomes more common than the light, then Shadow is all anyone will ever know." She said as she grabbed Jaune by the throat.

Her fingers constricting around his neck, actually bending the durasteel around his neck piece.

"You never had a chance to defeat me. You think just because you broke free of my spell that you will win? No, it just proves that your will was stronger than I thought, as long as the people of this world feel hate, as long as they feel anger, as long as suffering is as common as the cold. I will grow stronger." She said as Jaune was having difficulty breathing.

"So thats it, you turn them on each other, and you grow more powerful as a result..." He said as he understood now.

"Exactly, pity you humans and faunus can't learn to get along, it would have saved you so much trouble." She said as she prepared a hand.

"You're forgetting one thing Salem." He said as she raised an eyebrow.

"And what is that?" She asked curious as to what he was going to say.

"This cloak of hatred you put over us will not last, eventually someone will lift the veil, and you will find yourself growing weaker and weaker, until eventually we come back to kill you, once and for all." He said wanting to spit at her.

"How adorable, you still think you can win? I commend you on your optimism, admirable, but foolish." She said as she prepared a knifehand.

"It's a pity, I really did enjoy Lord Vader, it almost hurts me to have to do this." She said as she thrusted her hand forwards.

Straight into Jaune's chest, and into his remaining lung.

"AGGGGHHHHH!" He screamed as he felt the hand go out his back.

"JAAAAUUUUNNNNNNEEE!" Pyrrha screamed in horror at having to see him go through this again.

"Maybe one day someone will kill me...but it won't be you." She said as she threw him towards Ozpin and Pyrrha.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have matters to attend to, I can't waste time with you fools." She said as she chuckled in an evil tone.

The next thing she did was wave her hand, a black and red portal opened up, she took one last look at the trio, and she walked through the portal. It closed as soon as she walked through it. Salem had gotten away.

And they couldn't do a damn thing to stop it.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha yelled as she walked over to Jaune.

His breathing was even worse now. He was taking shallow breaths, just trying to get some air. Even his respirator was having hard time keeping up. His aura had stopped the bleeding, but he didn't have enough to heal the gaping hole in his chest.

"We have to get him out of here!" Pyrrha said as Ozpin nodded.

He was convinced that Jaune was back, and he needed help.

"James! What is your position?!" Ozpin said through a headset.

 _"The bastards are running away! Victory is ours!"_ He said with a hint of relief.

"Afraid not, Salem got away, and we need a medical transport!" He said as Ironwood's voice sounded panicked.

 _"What?! Did Miss Nikos get injured?!"_ He yelled wondering if the worst had happened.

"No, the medical transport is for Jaune Arc." He said as Ironwood was shocked.

 _"But you told us he was dea-"_ Ozpin cut him off.

"I was wrong! He was still alive! And he needs help!" Ozpin yelled as Ironwood decided to take Ozpins words to heart.

 _"We're sending a medical bullhead to you right now."_ He said as the com link went out.

"Pyrrha..." Jaune said underneath his armor.

"It's okay Jaune! Help is on its way! Just hang on!" She said as his breathing was raspy.

"I'm scared..." He said as Pyrrha held him close.

"Just hang on...we can fix this..." She said as she refused to let him out of her sight.

She wasn't going to risk him being taken away again.

"Please...don't let my family...know about what...happened to me." He said as she glared at him.

"You're not going to die! We're going to fix you up! You won't have to wear this suit anymore! You can go back and say hello to them!" She said as Jaune coughed up.

"I'm not sure...if that is an option." He said having trouble formulating sentences.

"Just hold on, just for a little longer." She said as she heard the sound of a bullhead.

"Come on! We have to get him on there." Ozpin said as they put him on a stretcher.

"Damn! He weighs a ton!" Pyrrha said as she forgot how much the extra enhancements must add on.

Needless to say, some of the soldiers on board were scared shitless when they saw them bring aboard a living and breathing Darth Vader. And they were even more surprised that they were trying to keep him ALIVE. They could have sworn this was the man they were supposed to be fighting against? Why did they want him alive? It made no sense.

"HELP HIM!" She yelled at some of the medics who got to work.

It was going to be a long flight back to base.

* * *

 **BACK AT BASE**

Team RWBY and NPR were waiting outside the medical center. When the teams had heard the news about Jaune. They were overjoyed to find out that he beat Salem's influence. But then Pyrrha described what happened to him. And now they were even more worried. Jaune might be alive, but he might die anyways. And that would be a horrible thing.

"How did he come back?" Ren asked as he thought he was lost forever.

"I reminded him about how much he cared about me..." Pyrrha said as she was certain that was what brought him back.

"What's the point if he doesn't survive?!" Yang asked punching a wall.

No team made a sound at that.

"All of that, all the hard work we put in to save him, and Salem puts a hand through his chest! It makes me so ANGRY!" She said as she punched a hole in the wall.

"Team RWBY? NPR?" General Ironwood said as he came out of the room.

"How is he?!" Ruby asked.

His only response was a sigh, and a sad look on his face.

"I'm sorry...the damage done to his lung was too much, and the amount of damage done to his body already, it's a miracle he has lived this long...the doctors say he has about fifteen minutes to live...you should...go and say your goodbyes..." He said as he walked away.

In truth, Ironwood didn't want them to see him cry. Having to inform them of their friends death, this time for real, it was a horrible feeling. Every single time he had to go to a mother, wife, sister, or friend to tell them that their loved one had been killed in battle. It took a toll on his soul. It was...an awful feeling.

Some would call him heartless, but his crime was that he cared too much.

"No..." Ruby said as she turned to hug Yang.

"Why? We just got him back..." Weiss said as she also hugged Ruby, with Blake joining in.

Nora found comfort in Ren. And Pyrrha was shocked beyond all belief.

All of that struggle, all of that pain, and all of the suffering, and Jaune was going to die anyways? IT WASN'T FAIR!

"We...we have to see him..." Ruby said as everyone nodded.

"Yes we need to do this..." Nora said as Pyrrha looked up, tears threatening to spill.

"For Jaune..." She said as they opened the door.

He still had his armor on, the helmet had not been removed, as the doctors were focusing mostly on his damaged chest area and lung. They never thought to take the mask off.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha asked with barely contained tears as she saw him on the hospital bed.

"Pyrrha, Nora, Ren, Ruby, Weiss, Yang, Blake...it's so good to see you all again, I thought I would never get that chance." He said with his respirator still giving out that scary voice.

"Pyrrha, help me take...this mask off." He said as Pyrrha walked over to him.

"But you'll die." She said trying to give Jaune hope.

"I heard Ironwood, nothing can stop that now. Just one last time, let me see you all again with my own eyes." He said as Pyrrha couldn't help but feel anguish.

Jaune knew he was going to die, and he seemed to have accepted it. Pyrrha reached for the back of his helmet, and found a latch on the back. She heard a hissing sound as it came loose. And the top part of his helmet came off. She saw that the helmet was two pieces, with the guard only covering the back of his head. They were all scared as to what was going to be behind the mask. Pyrrha peeled the front off, and they finally saw Jaune, but they didn't recognize him.

His face had gone deathly pale, his blond hair was gone, as if it was burned off, he had two Scars going diagonally across his eyes, but it was the eyes that made them realize it was him. Those blue eyes that started back at them with love and affection, especially for Pyrrha.

"Yes, you're all just as...wonderful as the last day I saw you..." He said thankful he could see them all again.

"I...I didn't want to be this, I tried to fight against it, but Salem, she was...she was too strong." He said as he remembered everything he did as Vader.

"All of those horrible things I did, all of those memories, the guilt is never going to go away, I can only hope that Oum is willing to forgive me for all the evil I have done..." He said as Pyrrha gripped his hand.

"He will...He will." She said as Jaune smiled at her.

"You always knew how to cheer me up." He said as she frowned.

"But we couldn't even save you." She said as the others, even Ren were all crying.

"But you did, all of you saved me." He said as they looked at Jaune.

"If it wasn't for you all, I would have never broken free from Salem, I would have been a slave to her until the end of time, you saved me from that fate, you guys were right, you were right about me, you believed I could be saved, when even Ozpin thought it impossible, you were right, and tell Victoria, that she was right." He said with a smile.

"I just wish, I had more time, I wish I didn't have to leave you all alone, but I'll be watching." He said as he turned to Ruby.

"Never give up on your dreams Rubes, the world can be free and beautiful, I know Salem said the world was doomed, but I believe you Ruby, can save it from itself, you can bring a beacon of light to this world." He said as she smiled a bit and wiped her tears.

"Yang, its good to see you back in action, I heard about what happened to your arm, and I'm glad it didn't dampen your spirits too much, look out for your sister, thats my wish for you." He said as Yang smiled and nodded.

"No problem...Vomit boy." She said as Jaune chuckled at his old nickname.

"Weiss...sorry for all those times I flirted with you, but I'm glad we became friends, I really hope that in another time, and another place, we can be friends again." He sad as Weiss was trying to keep in tears.

She tried to maintain a cold exterior, but it was hard around her friends, so she just let them go.

"Blake, thanks for getting those plans out, you helped strike a blow to Salem's plans, she may be out there, but she doesn't have as nearly much support, I hope you find even more ways to strike fear into her heart, and help bring her down." Jaune said as Blake wiped her eyes and smiled.

She would do everything she could to help stop Salem.

"Nora, don't ever change, the one thing I missed about you was your crazy random stories, and how you could brighten up anyone's day, never let anything change that." He said as Nora gave him a hug.

"I'll m-miss you." She said not bothering to try and hold in tears.

"Me too Nora...Me too." He said as he hugged her with his remaining hand.

"Ren, the brother I never had, Take care of Nora, you two are my family, and family looks out for one another." He said as Ren nodded. Promising he would take care of his teammates.

"Pyrrha, oh Pyrrha, how I missed you, and how I love you, I wish I could have realized that sooner, I wish none of this had happened, and I wish we could have a future together, but I'm afraid that's not going to happen..." He said as Pyrrha held his hand tight.

"I would have loved to see kids with your hair and eyes dancing around, playing with the other kids, but I can't give you that. I wish we could sit at a fireplace, telling stories to our kids about our young days, but I can't give you that. All I can give you is a promise that I love you, and always will. And that I'll wait for you in the afterlife. But don't you think about joining me too soon...alright?" He said with a smile.

Pyrrha responded by capturing his lips in a kiss. He may have had his breath taken away, but this time it was for a happy reason. And he happily kissed her back.

The others watched the display of love, and felt a little warmth enter their hearts at the display.

They broke the kiss as Jaune looked at the amount of time he had left. About thirty seconds.

"It's time for me to go guys..." He said as they all looked at the timer.

"Please...tell my family, I died heroically, don't let them know the truth, it would break them..." He said.

25 seconds.

"We will." They all said.

"Tell Ozpin, I never blamed him for any of this..." He said as they all nodded.

20 seconds.

"Burn my body with the armor, no one must ever find any trace that I ever existed, Darth Vader will become a figure of the past, only to be found in our memories. He will never be heard from again." He said with conviction, no one should ever learn about Vader ever again.

20 seconds.

"Pyrrha, I want you to keep Crocea Mors, use it, sell it, hand it down to an apprentice, do whatever makes you happy...just please, take it." He said as he handed the sword and shield combination to her.

"I will treasure this my love." She said as she held it close to her chest, while holding his hand with the other.

15 seconds.

"Weiss, could you do me a favor, and sing a song at my funeral?" He asked as she nodded.

"Of course, its the least I can do." She said with a smile.

10 seconds.

"Can you ever forgive me for what I did to you all?" He asked with hope in his voice.

"You didn't do anything to us, Vader did, we don't need to forgive you...because you did nothing wrong." Blake responded.

5 seconds.

"Well, this is it, goodbye my friends, I'll miss you all. But I'll see you all again someday..." He said as his time was up.

"But not yet...not...y...e...t." His voice started to fade away.

 **Dnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn**

The heart monitor went flat as Jaune passed on into the next life.

The two teams couldn't take it anymore as they burst into cries of sorrow. Mourning the death of their lost loved one.

Ironwood was in his office drinking heavily, with Glynda of all people offering comfort. Ozpin was in his office, thinking about how of all the mistakes he had ever made...this was his biggest failure. Qrow for once wasn't drinking, knowing his nieces would need a shoulder to cry on, and it would be best if he was sober.

There would be no joy tonight. The sorrow that they all felt was so great, it would take a long time before they could move on. But they needed to, they would...for Jaune.

They say the Grimm are attracted to Negative emotions, but even on this night, they dare not go towards the base. The pain was too great, even for them. And they dare not tempt the fates.

* * *

 **A WEEK LATER**

As they promised, they had prepared a grand funeral pyre for Jaune. He was being buried in his armor, they have no idea why he chose to be burned like that. But maybe it was so people would truly believe Vader was dead. Once again, he was thinking about the masses. Unforturnately, the funeral pyre was being recorded, and sent to the armies, so they could know once and for all, that the butcher known as Darth Vader was truly dead. They would have all preferred to keep it a private affair. But Ironwood did pull some strings.

While video was being taken, there was no audio, so they could say their goodbyes to Jaune, without anyone learning the truth. He claimed it was a technical glitch, and the people bought it. Ironwood knew they deserved to say goodbye to their friend in peace.

Pyrrha held the torch, Crocea Mors secure at her waist, she was wearing a black dress, her red hair covered by a black hat. She went up to Jaune's body, the oil covering the wood giving off a faint odor.

"Farewell my love, I will see you again." She said as she lit the fire.

The pyre burst into flames almost immediately as soon as Pyrrha stepped back. And everyone watched as Jaune's body was being burned.

"Weiss...you can sing now..." Ruby said as Weiss nodded.

She had heard this song before because Jaune was always singing it, it was from a show he liked, she think it was called Supernatural.

 _Carry on my wayward son._

 _There will be peace when you are done._

 _Lay your weary head to rest._

 _Don't you cry no more._

She started to sing, as the lines of the first chorus seemed to invoke an emotion through the attendees. Funny how a rock song could bring out such emotion. However, the way she sang it was more like a funeral song. Her lyrics only tugging at the heart strings of those involved.

With every lyric she sang, the more Jaune was engulfed in flames. It was a sad thing. But they knew it was what he wanted.

Ironwood ordered the cameras to be turned off as soon as his soldiers started cheering, knowing that Vader was truly dead. Now RWBY and formerly JNPR could mourn in peace.

As soon as Weiss finished her song, they all layed down and thought about their memories with their friend.

He may be gone, but his dream will live on...and they would do whatever it takes, to rid the world of Salem once and for all. Even if it took them fifty years, Salem would be defeated, and Jaune would not have died in vain.

"Well Jaune...you got what you wanted..." Pyrrha said as the others looked at her.

"In the end, you really were a hero, to all of us, I just wish the whole world could know that..." She said as everyone nodded.

They all fell asleep at his pyre that night. None of them would go back to the base, choosing to spend the last of their time with their old friend.

* * *

 **THE NEXT MORNING**

Ren was surprisingly the first to wake up. He yawned a bit, remembering what happened last night. He stretched out a bit, dusting off his funeral garb. As he looked towards the pyre. It had finished burning a while ago, most of Jaune's body was gone, and it seemed even the armor was gone.

 ** _CLUNK_**

Or so he thought as he saw something roll towards him. He bent down to pick it up. Only to see it was Vader's helmet.

Just looking at it brought back the memories of that ominious breathing.

 **HoooooPaaahhhh...Hoooooooppppaaaahh**

The breathing was ringing in his ears as he looked at the helmet. For some..odd reason, he felt compelled to take it.

"Come on Ren! We got to go!" Everyone was waking up.

Ren took one last look at the helmet. And he put it in his bag. After all, what harm could a helmet do?

It would remind him of Jaune's sacrifice. After all, he made the greatest sacrifice of them all.

What was wrong with honoring him?

* * *

 **ITS OVER! ITS FINALLY OVER! OH THANK GOD! Anyways, so its kind of a happy ending, but its bittersweet. Salem is still alive and kicking, planning god knows what, and Jaune is dead and buried.**

 **Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed the story. If you liked this, I have a new one called 'Out of Place' where it is me doing a drunken self insert. And there is always Endless possibilities for Jaune arc, and who knows what other crack one shots I'll come up with next.**

 **Punisher is still being a bit of a pain, but I have gotten some writing done on that lately. So it might be updated more often, now that I don't have to worry about Darth Arc.**

 **Anyways, thank you all for reading this, if you have been here from the beginning, then I applaud you. I didn't expect you all to keep reading til the end. Mostly because of a lot of the plot errors I made.**

 **Anyways, Hope you all have a fantastic day. And God bless you all. And God Bless America!**


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